Gold and Silver Allies
by Knightwood
Summary: Follow on to "Occuptional Hazard". The Rangers try to uncover more of Dillon's past in the hopes of finding a cure, taking them far outside the dome, where they meet new friends, and Venjx's latest threat. Slight re-imagining of "Embodiment"
1. Beginning of a Journey

This story will largely incorporate a slight re-imaging of the journey into the wastes the Rangers take, and the introduction of Gem and Gemma. Wherever the script overlaps with the show, needless to say I don't own the script, Disney does.

**Rating: **T – Adult themes, including violence.

**Timeline:** Around the time of the episode "Embodied".

**Legal: **I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

Summer came into the main room of the Garage, finding unusually that all of the lights were out. She looked around curiously as she tried to find out what was happening.

"Hello?" She asked as she made her way through the room. "Is anyone there?"

She looked around, finding a warm glow coming from one of the side rooms. She made her way towards the door cautiously, opening it. Inside, she found a table set up for a candle lit dinner. Soft music started to play as she approached the table. There was a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket, awaiting her. She could smell something cooking nearby. As she arrived at the table, she could feel a pair of arms wrapping around her waist, holding her to his warm body. Dillon leant in, kissing her cheek softly.

"What's the occasion?" She asked him.

"Dr. K gave me some good news this morning." He whispered in her ear as she enjoyed the warmth of his arms. "It's over."

She turned to look at him, a smile creeping onto her lips as she heard this.

"Is she sure?" Summer asked him. "It's really over?"

"She managed to decrypt the virus taking control of my body." He told her with a huge grin on his face as he brushed some hair from her face, caressing her cheek. "The implants are no longer growing. I'm in control now for good."

Summer couldn't contain her excitement and threw herself into his arms, kissing him deeply in her joy. Tears of happiness ran down her face as she finally allowed herself to believe what he had told her. The nightmare was finally over. Venjix would not take the man she loved from her. As they parted a little, he looked deeply into her eyes and took off her jacket, hanging it on a hook nearby.

"I thought you might want to celebrate." He said as he gestured back to the table. "I know we haven't had much to feel happy about recently."

"I can't believe you went to all this trouble." Summer replied as she took a seat. "This is unbelievable."

"Well I have to put in a little effort, don't I?" He asked her as he popped the cork on the champagne, causing her to jump in fright. The champagne frothed a little over the neck and onto the floor, before he grabbed a glass, catching some of the errant spill and pouring it. He handed her the glass as he poured his own, before turning back to her.

"So what do we toast to?" He asked her. "To us?"

"I like the sound of that." She replied, eyeing up his body thoughtfully. The light from the candles reflected off his flesh, giving him a warm glow. His t-shirt was a little tight, and showed off his thickly muscled, toned torso. She found her thoughts straying a little as she gazed at him, feeling her heart racing faster, and her face getting warmer. She took a long sip from her glass as she surveyed him, thinking about everything they had been through together. She could see happiness in him that she could never recall seeing before. The look in her eyes confirmed that he was telling the truth. He truly was cured; the dark days where they feared him losing himself to Venjix were over.

"This is good." He told her, setting down his glass. "I guess I should probably go and get the first course."

As he started to get up, Summer grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving. Dillon looked at her a little curiously.

"There's no hurry." She whispered. "I'm not really that hungry."

"You're not?" He asked her. "So do you just want to talk for a while?"

Summer just smiled at him and crossed the distance between them, kissing him passionately, running her hand through his hair. As they parted a little, she looked deeply into his eyes and shook her head.

She took him by the hand and led him towards her bedroom, taking him inside and closing the door behind them. Dillon gazed down at her with a slightly unsettled look in his eyes.

"Summer, are you sure about this?" He asked her. "You know I'd never ask you to do anything you don't want to."

"Who said I don't want to?" She asked him with a smile, placing her hands on his shoulders and guiding him down, sitting him on the edge of her bed. She grabbed his t-shirt, pulling it over his head and throwing it aside, before pressing him down onto the bed, caressing his chest as she kissed him again. He smiled up at her as she crawled onto the bed, sitting on his chest.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked her again. Summer just laughed and pulled off her t-shirt, throwing it aside."

"What do you think?" She asked him as she pulled her hair aside and lowered herself towards him for another kiss.

She woke with a start in the second bedroom of her parent's apartment, breathing rapidly as she came to. Her pyjamas were clinging to her, and her bed clothes were soaked in sweat. This was far from her first dream of this kind, though normally they didn't affect her quite so deeply. If nothing else, she was a little wary of dreaming these days because of the issues she had been having. Of course now Dr. Young had once again suggested that she stop taking the medication to see if her dreams caused her the same distress as they had before.

She pulled back the covers and made her way to the mirror, checking over herself as she tried to calm down. Her dreams had often turned into horrendous nightmares as a result of her trauma over Ronan's attack. While this dream had become largely uncomfortable for its own reasons, she couldn't help but smile as she thought about it. She wanted to be able to think about taking that step with Dillon some day; though it was just so hard for her to have those kinds of thoughts without coming back to what Ronan had done to her. This was the first time she had a dream about Dillon that hadn't ended up with her facing him. She made her way through to the bathroom and started to run a much-needed shower, and again smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. While in reality the virus was still within Dillon's system, she had a sense of hope, after all, if she was starting to show signs of getting better, perhaps Dr. K would find a solution to his problem.

Having got dressed, she made her way through to the living room, finding Dillon lying on her parent's couch, holding the musical pocket watch he played at times during the long periods between shut downs when he had nothing else to do. Summer knew that occasionally he got fragments of memories when he listened to the chimes of the watch, though lately he had been listening to it more and more. He seemed to be getting a lot more such flashbacks. As he realised she was standing there, drawing his thoughts back to reality, he flipped away the watch, and gave out a frustrated sigh.

"I saw her again." He informed his girlfriend. He had told her about some of his flashbacks. She knew that he kept seeing himself guiding and taking care of a younger blind woman, though so far he had no memory of who she was, or her relationship to him. All he seemed to know was that he was meant to take care of her. He still felt guilty about the fact he couldn't save her, despite still not knowing who she was.

"Do you remember anything else?" Summer asked him, taking a seat on the couch next to him, putting her arm around him. Dillon shook his head.

"This time I was in a city with her." He told Summer as he recalled as much as he could. "We weren't in the Venjix compound."

"Dillon, I know this is hard." She replied, holding him closely. She had been having an idea for a while now, and she was just trying to think of a way to suggest it. "You know, that watch seems to be acting as a trigger to your memories. In a lot of ways it's a lot like what Dr. Young does when he hypnotises me."

"Are you suggesting that I should get hypnotised?" He asked her. "Summer, knowing Ziggy he'd try to get me to act like a chicken or something."

"I wasn't thinking of trying to hypnotise you ourselves, I wouldn't know where to begin anyway." She replied. "I was just thinking that maybe it would be worth booking a session with Dr. Young for you."

"Summer, what are you trying to say?" He asked her.

"Look, these flashbacks are obviously upsetting you. You feel badly about not being able to remember who she is. Maybe Dr. Young can help you remember some stuff that could help you figure out who she is."

"Summer, the sat bot said he took my memories." Dillon reminded her.

"Well obviously some of them are left." Summer reminded him. "It's possible that if you remember more about what happened to you before you woke up in the waste land, that Dr. K could use that knowledge to help find a cure."

Dillon just snorted as she said this. He was still understandably bitter about finding out that Dr. K was responsible for releasing the Venjix virus. While they hadn't gotten on before, now he had every reason to hate her. He had quite literally lost everything to Venjix. He had lost his past, and as a result of the virus within his implants, it seemed like he was destined to lose his future too. He was either going to end up turning into a machine completely, or he was going to advance to the stage where Dr. K would have no choice but to put him back in the stasis pod.

While they could all sympathise with what she went through as a prisoner of the Alphabet Soup programme, that didn't stop them from hurting over their own losses. In particular Dillon found himself in an awkward position. He hated what had been done to him, and a part of him blamed Dr. K for it. Of course, he also knew that if anyone would be able to cure him of his affliction, then it would be her. He was relying on her to return his life to him.

"If nothing else, maybe if you remember who she is you can get some peace of mind." Summer stated as she saw he was thinking about it. "Besides, what have you got to lose?"

Dillon just smiled as he realised that she wasn't going to be denied. She had a warm quality about her that allowed her to convince most people of just about anything when she put her mind to it. He gave a weak laugh.

"You're not going to give up on this are you?" He asked her.

"What kind of girlfriend would I be if I did?" She asked him in response. Dillon kissed her softly, before holding her tightly. Summer's father cleared his throat, bringing their attention to the fact he was there. Summer pushed Dillon's arm off and moved a little further down the couch. While her parents knew about Dillon, and were pleased their daughter had found someone that made her happy, it was a little early in the morning for the side show. Especially since they were both staying under his roof during the couple of days' hiatus Colonel Truman had sent them on to get over Dr. K's revelation.

"Would you like some coffee?" He asked them.

"That would be nice, thank you Mr. Landsdown." Dillon replied.

"I'll just help you." Summer chipped in as she followed her father to the kitchen to help pour. Dillon watched her go, thinking long and hard about what she had said. Maybe there would be answers in his past, and like she said, it couldn't hurt, could it?

Over at the orphanage, Ziggy was having a great time helping Ms. Foster around the place. Since he didn't really have a family, when he was told to take a couple of days to himself, he took the opportunity to visit her. Since no one was going to be at the Garage to keep an eye on Tenaya, he had brought her with him. At this point they were in the basement working on the boiler. Ziggy really didn't have much idea what he was doing, but he knew that Tenaya had a level of technological know-how as a result of her time with Venjix.

"OK, I've tightened up everything I can see, but the water pressure gauge still isn't rising." Ziggy complained as he wiped his brow. "What else can I be missing?"

"I think it might be something underneath." Tenaya suggested quietly. Ziggy didn't know why, but she was being incredibly quiet that morning. He knew she enjoyed spending time at the orphanage with him. The kids loved playing with her, and it was one of the few places she was accepted without question. Ziggy lay down on the floor, picking up a monkey wrench.

"Would you mind?" He asked her. Tenaya reached down, grabbing the edge and lifting the unit with an unnatural ease for someone of her size, her cybernetically enhanced strength allowing her to hold it. Ziggy slid underneath the unit, checking the connections. Feeling water dripping onto him, he located the leak.

"OK, here it is." He commented, reaching for some plumbing tape. He started binding it, before reaching for the wrench. "Could you check the pressure gauge?"

Tenaya switched position, holding up the unit with one hand while she looked up at the gauge.

"The water pressure's increasing." She told him. Ziggy slid out from underneath the unit, allowing her to place it down, before helping him back to his feet.

"Is everything going alright down there?" Ms. Foster asked as she came down into the basement with some sandwiches and a couple of glasses of lemonade.

"I think we've just about finished here." Ziggy told her. Tenaya took a look at the unit, using her optical implants to scan it, checking for any further faults and smiled.

"We've fixed all the leaks." Tenaya added as she picked up a glass of lemonade. "It shouldn't take long for the water pressure to build back up, and once we re-light the furnace, it won't be long until the hot water returns."

"Thank you so much for your help." Ms. Foster told them. "I really appreciate it. I know I'm going to have to get that furnace replaced eventually, but if this one can last a little longer, it'll help me save a little more for the replacement."

"Well we're just happy we could help." Ziggy replied with a smile as he took the plate of sandwiches. "It's just a shame we have to have our lunch down here."

"Well I'd appreciate you not getting grease and soot all over my kitchen." She chuckled. "Besides, it's like your g..."

Ziggy gave her a small warning glare, stopping her from saying it. Ms. Foster still loved teasing him about the fact that he was beginning to have strong feelings for Tenaya. She had to stop herself from laughing as she saw him turning a little pink.

"It's like your assistant said, it'll be a while before the hot water's back up to temperature." She continued. "You can have a shower and change then."

She turned and headed back up the stairs, leaving them alone together. Ziggy watched her as she took a little bite out of a sandwich, only to look a little uncomfortable.

"Is everything alright?" He asked her. Tenaya looked a little uneasy as he asked her this. She looked down at the ground.

"Ziggy, I think something might be wrong with me." She told him. "Not my implants, if there was anything wrong there, Dr. K would have found it."

"What's the problem?" He asked her. "Are you ill?" She nodded her head weakly.

"Since I've no longer been receiving Venjix's regenerative serums, I knew I'd be having a lot more health issues. I've been feeling a lot more minor pains, aches, illnesses..."

"Tenaya, what's wrong with you?" He asked her.

"I've been feeling a lot of stomach pains." She told him. "It isn't a constant pain; it's more like several intermittent cramps. I've been feeling hot at times."

"It sounds like you've just picked up something." Ziggy told her. "Trust me, it shouldn't be serious."

"This morning I woke up to find out that I'd been bleeding." She told him. Ziggy looked at her a little curiously. She pulled a small canvas bag out from behind the stairs, handing it to him. He looked inside, finding her bed clothing.

"Oh, right." He replied.

"I'm really scared." She told him, as a tear started to form in her eye. "You know what Venjix did to your friend. Maybe he did this to stop me from leaving him. Maybe he planted some kind of virus in me to force me to undergo his treatments..."

Ziggy took her hand in his in a comforting gesture. He had an idea what was happening to her, but he needed to confirm his suspicions.

"Um...Tenaya, you said Venjix dealt with all your biological functions. How much did he deal with?"

"While I was in the regeneration chamber he dealt with everything." She replied. "I didn't need to eat or drink, he dealt with..."

"I think I get the idea." Ziggy interrupted her. "How long would you say you've been with us?"

She tried to think about that. She hadn't really had any reason to give the passage of time since she had left Venjix much thought.

"I've been your prisoner a little over a month." She told him as she finally figured it out. Ziggy breathed a small sigh and put his arm around her, holding her closely.

"Look, I'm probably not the right person to explain all of this to you, but I can assure you that it is perfectly natural." He told her warmly.

"It's natural to bleed so much for no reason?" She asked him. He took the bag and shoved it aside, before holding her closely. She felt herself growing warmer as he held her tightly in his comforting embrace. He hadn't explained what was wrong with her, but when he told her that she would be fine, she could believe it.

"I'm going to call Dr. K; she should be able to explain..."

"Please, don't bother her with this." Tenaya interrupted him. "I still don't think she likes me very much."

"Fine, I'll ask Summer if she can explain things to you." He told her, picking up the bag. "In the meantime, I think we should have enough hot water for those showers. I'll wash this and return it to Ms. Foster."

"I'd really like to clean up." She told him. "I feel like I need to scrub for a week after this."

"Well you do have a little something on your face." He told her. She looked at him a little curiously. "Right there!"

With that, he stroked his finger down her nose, smearing soot onto it. Tenaya's mouth hung open and she laughed as he did this.

"Oh you are so dead!" She called out as he sprinted out of the room with Tenaya in hot pursuit, laughing as they went. He was glad he could make her feel better. Growing up in the orphanage, he had some experience with what it meant for the kids to grow up and experience puberty, and since Tenaya seemed to have no memory of her life before the implants, he figured it had to be a pretty frightening experience going through that and having no idea what it meant. He was sure that once she spoke with Summer she would understand. In the meantime, he just had to make sure she didn't catch up to him and exact vengeance for the soot attack.

Meanwhile, over at Mr. McAllister's garage, Flynn was spending his time fixing his truck, in between helping his dad with his business. Mr. McAllister came over to the truck and banged on the side, causing Flynn to jump with a start, banging his head on the underside.

"You've got a visitor." He announced.

"Dad, did ye have tae do that?" Flynn asked him as he wheeled the cart out from under the scorched wreckage of his hummer. "You know better that to startle me like that while I'm working."

"I would have thought you'd be happy for a little company." Sam said as she arrived with a sandwich bag. She was still limping, but Flynn smiled as he noticed that she was no longer using a cane to help her walk. "Besides, it isn't like this burnt out heap's going anywhere any time soon."

"I keep telling him it would be easier to replace the stupid thing than repair it, but will he listen to me?" Mr. McAllister complained. "I mean what do I know? I only taught him everything he knows."

"Look, you know the military's paying for the repairs anyway, so what's the problem?" Flynn asked him. "Besides, it has sentimental value."

"You've not even had it three years, what possible sentimental...?" He paused as he realised Sam was in the room and held up his hands. "You know what? I don't think I want to know. I'm going to go and do some paying work."

Sam came over to Flynn, greeting him with a soft kiss as he pulled up a couple of stools for them. She set down the bag.

"How are you finding working in the old place again?" She asked him.

"I can't say I object to the money, but I'll be glad to get back to the Garage." He told her. "Sorry you had to fall for a super hero and not a grease monkey."

"I still can't believe your dad earns more for changing oil and spark plugs than you do." She giggled.

"Well it's like my dad always told me when he started to teach me about engines." Flynn began. "If people knew enough about odd jobs to know they were being overcharged, then tradesmen would be out of work, because they'd do the jobs themselves. Besides, it's not like Corinth is full of mechanics."

Just then, his cell phone rang. Flynn looked at Sam a little apologetically and answered it.

"What is it Dr. K?" He asked as he checked the caller ID.

"Flynn, Summer contacted me this morning with an idea about how we can treat Dillon's condition." Dr. K told him. "Please return to the Garage. We may need you."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." He replied. He turned back to Sam as he hung up and kissed her gently. "Sorry about this, can we take a rain check?"

"I can always share this with your dad." Sam said with a shrug. "I guess that's what I get for falling for a super hero."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." He replied as he sprinted out the door. "Sorry dad, it looks like I'm going back a little early. You're on your own."

"Aren't I always?" He grumbled. "I tell you this Sam, I'm proud of that boy, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to spend a little more time with him."

"I know the feeling." She replied in a sigh. "Anyway, how would you like some lunch?"

Back at the Garage, Colonel Truman, Ziggy and Scott were sitting in the corner as Dr. K and Dr. Young were working with Dillon. Summer had convinced him to come to the Garage to work on retrieving more of Dillon's memories. Flynn came to Ziggy's side and sat down.

"What's going on here?" Flynn asked him.

"Summer thinks that if Dillon remembers more of what happened to him before he got the implants, then Dr. K might be able to find a cure." Ziggy explained.

"Where is Summer?" He asked in response.

"She's talking with Tenaya." Ziggy informed him. "It's a little private."

Dr. Young was holding Dillon's watch close to his face as he went deeper into his mind. He could see in his reactions that the music was having the desired effect.

"So what does the music mean to you?" He asked him. "How does it make you feel?"

"I feel...responsibility." Dillon answered. "I think about a girl. I'm not sure who she is, I just know I'm meant to look out for her."

"Can you see what she looks like?" He asked him. Dillon shook his head.

"All I know is that she has dark hair and she's blind." Dillon told him. "She uses a white cane to get around, but when I'm there, she holds my arm. She lets me lead her. She trusts me."

"Where are you right now?" He asked him.

"I don't know. We're in some kind of city square." Dillon answered. "It's nowhere in Corinth, I know that much. I don't recognise any of it."

"Try to pinpoint something, anything about what you're doing." He willed him. "You said you're leading her. Where are you taking her?"

"We're shopping." He said. "I'm taking her around some market stalls. We..."

His words tailed off and he noticed something.

"I can see a sign. It says Kenmore." He told him, coming back to full consciousness. "We were in a place called Kenmore."

"Kenmore?" Scott asked as he heard this. "Where's that?"

"Downtown Omega City." Dr. Young answered. They all looked at him in surprise.

"My old surgery used to be there." He told them. "Omega City was one of the first cities evacuated right after the first Venjix attack."

"That might fit with when Dillon was captured." Scott commented. "So what do we do now?"

"What I would have recommended before is going to Omega City." Dr. Young responded. "That way we could see if anything triggered more memories, but I know you can't do that..."

"Why not?" Dillon asked him. "I lived in the wastes for almost a year. I can do it again."

"Dillon, you can't do that." Scott told him. "At least...not alone you can't."

"That's right." Summer told him as she arrived back in the room. "We're in this together."

"Besides, we'll need to take a remote power unit." Flynn reminded him. "Outside the dome, we can't access the zords without it. We'd be sitting ducks."

"Well we're going to need a pretty big vehicle to take all of us and the remote power unit." Scott stated, turning to his father. He noticed a slight look on his face. "We really should travel in style."

"Do you have something that would accommodate that?" Dr. K asked him. Colonel Truman realised he was being ganged up on and gave up. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled Central Command.

"Vasquez, the Rangers need to borrow a vehicle." He told the communications. "Have the technicians bring around the Go-Onger."


	2. GoOnger

As they awaited the arrival of whatever vehicle Scott had convinced the Colonel to lend them, Summer was quietly talking with Dillon, reassuring him that they were there for him. Ziggy came over just as they were holding hands.

"Uh, Summer, could I talk to you about something?" Ziggy asked her. Summer just looked to Dillon and nodded in the direction of the others. She knew what Ziggy wanted to talk to her about. He had managed to talk her into explaining to Tenaya what had happened to her the night beforehand.

"Would you go and help the guys pack up the supplies?" She asked him. Dillon looked to Ziggy, a little curious as to what he wanted to talk to her about, and slightly annoyed that their moment together had been interrupted, but he went anyway. Obviously it was something that Ziggy wanted to keep private, and he knew she wouldn't break that confidence.

"Did you get a chance to talk to Tenaya?" He asked her. Summer nodded.

"I didn't think I'd need to have that talk for quite a while." She replied. "I know how much of Dillon's memory is missing, I can't believe she didn't understand what was happening to her."

"How was she feeling when you left her?" Ziggy asked her. Summer held his hand and smiled at her a little.

"Probably about the same as anyone feels when they find out they have that to look forward to every month." She replied. "She feels a little better though. I think she understands what this means now. At least she knows nothing's wrong with her."

"Was it really that bad?" Ziggy asked her. Summer just looked at him in a way that suggested he probably shouldn't ask. "I wish I could stay with her a bit longer. She seemed pretty upset."

"She'll be fine Ziggy, she just needs a little while to get used to the fact Venjix isn't dealing with everything for her." She replied, taking his hand. "Besides, the Colonel's vehicle should be arriving any time soon."

With that, the Garage doors opened, revealing a large, silver bus. As it rolled into the room, they saw the word "Go-Onger" emblazoned across the side in giant red letters.

"I guess that would be it." Ziggy surmised as they all made their way over to the vehicle. They all crowded around it, gazing at it in astonishment. Colonel Truman came up to it, patting it affectionately with a look on his face like he was looking at his own infant child.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you all to the Go-Onger." He introduced it with pride as a technician leapt down from the cab. "The General Outdoor Operational General-purpose Explorational Rover. An all-purpose attack and surveillance vehicle..."

"Designed and built in the Brighton Installation two miles beneath the Nevada Desert." Dr. K concluded. "I'd know their shoddy work anywhere."

"Not everyone had the funding and technology of Alphabet Soup Dr. K." Colonel Truman reminded her, stroking the side of the vehicle as the technician handed him the keys. "This was the pinnacle of technology when it was built. I oversaw the whole project..."

"This was the pinnacle of technology?" Flynn asked him. "It's a bus!"

"When was it built? 1973?" Summer asked a little sceptically with a giggle, looking at the decor of the internal furnishings. Colonel Truman gave her a little warning glare.

"It is kind of retro." Ziggy agreed, poking his head out the window. "It's like sitting in a time warp. Look, I even found a lava lamp!"

Colonel Truman snatched it off him with a small growl.

"I liked the style of that period OK?" He snapped, before stroking the side of the vehicle again. "Don't listen to them girl."

"You know, looking at it this might not be so bad." Flynn stated as he inspected it more closely. "Heavy set chassis, armour plating, bullet-proof glass."

"I told you it was impressive." Colonel Truman said proudly. "There are more horses under the hood of that thing than Genghis Khan's stables."

"Right, I just need to install that remote power unit." Flynn told them. "Dr. K, if you wouldn't mind giving me a hand."

"I'll be right there Flynn." She replied, following him to the lab. Summer came up to Colonel Truman with a curious look on her face.

"If this thing's a military vehicle, how come I haven't heard about it until now?" She asked him. Colonel Truman laughed.

"It was a military project, but the funding was pulled and the project was scrapped before it was completed." Colonel Truman informed her. "Rather than just scrap it, we agreed one of us would get to keep it. Since we were in Nevada at the time, we agreed to play a game of poker. Let's just say they found out the hard way how I funded my way through college."

"So you kept it for personal use?" Summer asked him.

"What can I say? I intend to retire some day." Colonel Truman replied with a shrug. "It sure beats the hell out of a Winnebago."

"Right, that's the power cell installed." Flynn called out as he finished up. "We're all ready to go!"

"Rangers, this power cell will allow you to use your Zord technology beyond the boundaries of the dome, however it is limited. You will be able to use only one Zord configuration."

"One Zord configuration?" Dillon asked her. "You are aware that the trip is almost two days out and two days back again."

"It is all the power the cell can hold. After that, its energy will be depleted." Dr. K stated. "After that, you will have to rely on your morphers and nothing else."

"Right, I guess we just have to make sure that one Zord configuration counts." Scott replied. "OK can I get the keys now?"

"You can have the keys on one condition." Colonel Truman told him. He pointed to Flynn. "He doesn't drive."

"What?" Flynn asked a little indignantly. "Why?"

"You have a habit of bringing vehicles back in more pieces than you receive them in." He reminded the Blue Ranger. "Remember the state of the bus you came to Corinth in?"

"I got it back didn't I?" Flynn asked him.

"Your Hummer pretty much needs rebuilding from the ground up." Scott interjected.

"You brought back the Lion Hauler in a less than admirable condition when you destroyed Mandrake." Dr. K reminded him flatly.

"OK, Flynn doesn't drive." Scott agreed. Colonel Truman smiled and handed his son the keys. "Dr. K and I will monitor things from the lab here. Take care Rangers."

With that, Dr. K and the Colonel left the room, sealing the doors behind them. Scott turned to the others.

"Flynn's driving." He told them. "All in favour say aye."

"Aye!" The others all called out as they grabbed their supplies and climbed in. Scott tossed the keys to Flynn.

"Please be careful." He implored the Blue Ranger. "This bus is my dad's favourite possession. It's worth more than we are to him, so please bring it back."

"Hey, I might bring things back in a few pieces, but I always bring them back." Flynn replied as he climbed into the driver's seat. "Is everyone ready? Next stop, Omega City!"

Meanwhile in the Venjix compound, Venjix was running scans of the area surrounding the dome. Crunch and Shifter were watching on with awe, still getting used to having their creator walking among them.

"Sire, the shields are lowering." Crunch stated, seeing the screen before him monitoring the energy readings. "Shall we invade?"

"That is not my plan. I had anticipated this move." Venjix assured his General. "My plan is proceeding perfectly."

"What plan sire?" Shifter asked as he moved around in the background erratically. "What can we do?"

"Prepare my personal transport, but remain here. I want to finish them with my own two hands." Venjix stated as it looked down on its hands. "It's time to find out exactly what this new form can do. Let's see what Project Strychnine adds to my technology."

With that, it turned and strode purposefully from the room, heading towards the hanger. It was time for the Rangers to fall.

The Rangers had been driving now for some time out with the dome. The wastes were a desolate, lifeless place. There was the occasional patch of moss or other plant life sheltered within the rocks along the way, but other than that, there were no signs of life anywhere. Summer crossed over to where Dillon was sitting, looking out of the window.

"I knew the wastes were bleak, but I almost forgot what it was like out here." She remarked. "I guess I didn't want to remember."

"It's one of the few things I can." Dillon told her. "I was out here for so long."

"It's alright Dillon, we're here for you." She told him. She noticed something outside that caught her attention. She nudged him gently and pointed, drawing his attention to it.

"A speed limit sign." Dillon stated with a slight hint of a laugh. "I might have known that would be one of the few things to survive the attacks."

"There's tarmac too." She pointed out. "We're on a road. It means we're heading the right way."

"I'm not even sure what I expect to find out there." Dillon told her honestly. "I mean, I haven't remembered much up until now."

"Dillon, you know we're here for you." She assured him.

Dillon smiled as she said this, taking comfort in her words. As he looked deeply into her eyes, he could feel the connection they felt in their hearts. An unseen force began drawing them together. Summer closed her eyes as they prepared to kiss.

At that point, Ziggy threw himself between them, looking up at some cliffs overhanging the road.

"Guys, did you see that?" He asked them, not even noticing the annoyed groans from the Yellow and Black Rangers as he broke up their moment.

"What Ziggy?" Dillon asked, clearly a little annoyed. "Did we see what?"

"I think I saw something moving up there." He replied. "It kind of looked like someone was watching us."

"Ziggy, it's a post-apocalyptic wasteland." Dillon reminded him. "There's nothing to eat, and nothing to drink. No-one's out here."

"No, I saw someone up on that ridge, I'm sure of it." Ziggy told them.

"Ziggy, we're all a little jumpy about being out here." Summer told him reassuringly, handing him a packet of chips. "Maybe you just need something to take your mind off things."

"I guess you're right." He replied, taking the bag, but keeping his eyes on the ridge for any further sign of what he had seen. "I guess I should just try to calm..."

The bag exploded as he pulled it too hard, forcing it open and spraying the contents everywhere. "...Down."

"Ziggy, would you try to be careful man!" Flynn complained, sweeping some chips from the dashboard. "For goodness sake, we're all jumpy enough, there's nothing out here!"

"Try telling him that." Scott answered, slapping Flynn's arm and gesturing forward. He looked up, and slammed on the brakes as he saw a sleek, white and black attack bot standing before them. A kind of cape fluttered behind it in the desert breeze. It's red, glowing eyes burned into them. The Rangers disembarked, coming to face it.

Back at the lab, Dr. K had looked out the chip that had downloaded the acceleration upgrade into Dillon's systems and put it into the computer for analysis. Colonel Truman watched on as she worked. Tenaya came into the room, wearing a surgical gown, and looking with disgust at the chair in the middle of the room.

"I thought you didn't think this was necessary." She complained as she sat down.

"Dr. K, shouldn't we be monitoring the radio waves for any communications from the Rangers?" Colonel Truman asked her.

"I appreciate your input Colonel, but if they need us they will contact us." She told him. "In the meantime, I'm trying to prepare for when they get back."

"So what does any of this have to do with the Rangers?" He asked her.

"If they are correct and they find something in Dillon's memory that helps me to treat him, it's best that I have as much information to work from as possible." She told him. "Now, since the chip downloaded an acceleration code, it has to have at least some elements of the viral coding in it."

She activated the restraints on the chair, holding Tenaya in place once more. She looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I swear you'll be sedated, and there will be no discomfort." Dr. K told her as she was put under and all the medical instruments started to attach themselves into place. "I have a full schematic of Dillon's implants, but my work on Tenaya's is incomplete. I only know that she has much of the same technology within her body, and she has shown no signs of the virus herself. She may be a good analogue for a healthy system to work from. If I can understand the differences between Tenaya's systems and Dillon's, then any information they can gather may just allow me to reverse engineer the virus and destroy it."

"I guess that makes sense." Colonel Truman responded. He looked down on Tenaya's unconscious form. "I just hope we find out answers before it's too late."

Back outside the dome, the Rangers confronted their foe, preparing for battle.

"I guess it was too much to hope that Venjix would leave us alone." Scott barked. "Right guys, we've done this a hundred times before."

"But not against me." Venjix responded in its cold, mechanical voice. "You have defied me for so long, it will be fitting to crush you underfoot myself."

"That voice." Dillon whispered, his mouth hanging open in amazement. He held his head as images bombarded him. He saw the horrifying scene all over again. The blind girl's screams as she fell, the Grinders' iron grip preventing him from saving her, the sense of hopeless loss as he watched her fall crushing what little strength was left in him. He was held fast, no longer concerned what happened to him as he was forced to face the pillar. He heard the voice, and saw its burning red eye as the Sat Bot came for him.

"Dillon, what's wrong?" Summer yelled, seeing his reaction. He looked into the robot's eyes, recognising it at once.

"That voice...the eyes...I know you." Dillon stammered.

"Nice to see you again subject D44." Venjix greeted him. "Yes, it is I Venjix!"

The Rangers all recoiled hearing this, realising they were in for the fight of their lives.

Meanwhile, on a ridge not far from their position, two figures watched on. They were wearing Ranger rigs, one Gold, and the other Silver. The Gold Ranger pressed the side of his helmet, activating a telescopic mode, zooming in on them.

"I can't believe they're going to fight." The Silver Ranger stated. "They don't have a chance!"

"It's just as well we're out here." The Gold Ranger replied. "If not..."

"What is it?" She asked him as she noted the pause. The Gold Ranger just pointed down at them. The Silver Ranger activated her telescopic mode as well, looking down. "It can't be..."

"It is." Gold replied as the Rangers morphed. "They have the Ranger series technology."

Down in the valley, the Rangers were quickly finding themselves overmatched by Venjix as they fought. Dillon was launched into the Go-Onger, stunning him and forcing him out of his morphed form as his energy was exhausted.

"Guys, we need to hit him all at once!" Flynn yelled as he, Summer and Ziggy all rushed him with their Nitro Swords. Venjix just scoffed at them as a sword appeared in his hand. He parried each of them with ease, before taking them down with a single swipe. As they hauled themselves to their feet in front of him, Venjix fired off a power blast which smashed all of them out of their morphed form. Dillon joined them, standing over them protectively.

"You are no match for my generation 13 technology." He taunted them as he approached. "Your destruction is guaranteed."

"Not yet!" Scott snarled as he swung his Street Sabre. Venjix parried every blow with practiced ease. Seeing the defensive pattern he was using, Scott paused as they parted.

"Those were Gates' moves." He gasped.

"To be more exact, they were the Strychnine technology's moves." Venjix corrected him. "With the Strychnine technology backed up by Generation 13's processer speed, this body is unbeatable."

With that, he fired another power blast, which de-morphed Scott, leaving him helpless with his friends.

"Guys, we only have one hope!" Flynn yelled. "The Go-Onger. We have to out-run him!"

They all rushed for the vehicle, slamming the door shut as the power-blast rocked it. Only the Go-Onger's armoured hull stopped them being destroyed. Flynn started the engine, flooring the accelerator and racing away as Venjix watched them.

"I anticipated that move. There is nothing you can do to prevent your destruction." He stated as he leapt into his personal craft, racing after them in hot pursuit.

"He's still on us!" Flynn yelled as he checked the rear-view mirror. "Guys, we can't out-run him in this!"

"Flynn, just keep going!" Scott told him. "We're approaching a tunnel. We can shelter in there until he breaks off pursuit."

A couple of blasts tore up the road and threw debris across the wind shield. Flynn hit the wipers, clearing it as much as he could.

"We're not going to make it!" Flynn told him. "He's got a lock on us, the next one..."

Just then, his fighter spun wildly out of control as a blast sheared through the wing. It split off into about half a dozen drones, flying in several directions.

"What was that?" Dillon asked, making his way to the back of the vehicle and looking out the back window.

"Who cares? It just bought us the time we need." Scott stated as they made their way into the tunnel, parking in the relative safety of the tunnel. Ziggy got out and walked slowly towards the tunnel entrance with Dillon.

"Someone just saved our asses." Dillon stated. "Who else is out here?"

"I know this might sound crazy, but I could swear I saw Zords." Ziggy told him. "Gold and Silver flying Zords."

"But there are no other Zords." Scott asked him.

"Then what do you call that?" Dillon asked him as he pointed to a pair of Zords flying away having destroyed the last of the drones.

"Dr. K would have told us if there were other Zords." Summer asked them. "Wouldn't she?"


	3. Welcome to Omega City

The Rangers were holed up inside the tunnel, taking a while to ensure that the threat was over after the intense battle overhead. Scott surveyed the area once more.

"I think they're gone." Scott stated. "Everybody get back into the Go-Onger."

"Are you serious?" Ziggy asked him. "You saw what that thing did to us. This is nuts!"

"All the more reason we should get moving before Venjix has a chance to re-group and send out another group of drones." Scott replied flatly. "If we wait here, they're just going to send reinforcements."

"We should go back." Dillon said abruptly. "We can't risk all this just for me. We're only half way there, and with Venjix in his new body..."

"Dillon, we've already come this far." Summer said softly, taking his hand. "We can't give up now."

"We don't even know if I'll find anything out there." Dillon replied. "We're talking about risking all of our lives based on something I saw in a dream."

"Without your memories we have no idea how long it'll take Dr. K to find a cure." Ziggy reminded him. "As much as I'll probably regret saying this, I'm with Summer here. If there's even a chance of finding something, I say we go for it."

"You're all making the mistake of thinking this is a democracy." Scott interjected. "I'm team leader for a reason, and I say...We're going to Omega City."

Ziggy and Summer got a satisfied smile on their faces as they realised they had gotten their way. Dillon shook his head in a defeated manner.

"Besides, we still have a Zord configuration." Scott reminded him. "If we run into Venjix again, we'll not hesitate."

"I don't have a choice in this do I?" Dillon asked them.

"Of course you don't." Summer told him, sitting beside him and pulling him closely. "You're mine now, and I'm going to Omega City."

"You can't argue with that man." Flynn said as he got back into the driver's seat and fired up the engine. "Next stop, Omega City!"

Back at the lab, Dr. K was busy working on her computers, trying to crack the mysteries of the chip and Tenaya's implants. Colonel Truman came in carrying a cup of coffee and sat it down beside her. He wanted to do everything he could to help her, but he honestly had no idea what she was doing, much less what any of the displays meant. Dr. K took the cup and drank some of it before returning to her analysis of the chip.

"Thank you Colonel." She said gratefully. "The coffee is much appreciated."

"I thought it might help." He responded as he took a seat. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Without meaning to sound rude, I believe you must have other duties requiring your attention at Central Command." She said as she took another sip. Something on the monitor caught her attention, causing her to put down the cup. She furrowed her brows as she pulled up another display.

"Corporal Hicks is taking care of things there." Colonel Truman informed her. "He's on restricted duties because of his injuries. What are you looking at?"

"Hopefully it's nothing." She said as she tapped some keys. This was the first time Colonel Truman recognised something on the screen. It was a map, and it seemed to be indicating a point in Omega City.

"What is that?" He asked her.

"It's a signal." She answered quietly as she grabbed a scanner. She began running it over the chip.

"The Rangers have reached Omega City already?" He asked hopefully. He was desperate to hear word from his son.

"With the vehicle they left in, even if they travelled at full speed without interruption they would not have reached the city by now." Dr. K informed him nervously. Colonel Truman looked worried as he looked back to her. He knew that if Dr. K was so concerned, then it was really time to worry. She felt a sense of dread creeping into her as the analysis confirmed her worst fear. "The signal is identical to a signal given off by the chip that was implanted on Dillon. It's from Venjix."

"What are you saying Dr. K? Venjix sent a message to Dillon?" He asked.

"It's more than that. He downloaded images directly into Dillon's memory centre." Dr. K informed him. "He gave him an image so realistic that it would seem to Dillon to be a real memory. The signal is originating from Kenmore."

"The Rangers are being led into a trap." He gasped as he finally realised what Dr. K was telling him. "We have to warn them!"

"The radiation is blocking any attempts to communicate with the Rangers." She said sadly as her thoughts strayed to the Rangers, and to Scott in particular. Despite the pain of his rejection of her, she still cared deeply about him, and it broke her heart to realise that he was driving headlong into a trap. "I can reverse the signal, using Venjix's own broadcast position to boost the signal, but the message will still only reach them when they reach Omega City."

"So until then, they'll be blind." He replied.

"They'll be blind, but not helpless." She told him. "We've seen what they can do. We know they've made it out of tough situations before."

"Dr. K, re-route all of your systems to show the displays at Central Command, and then come with me." He instructed her. "I can have Hicks re-route some of the power from the shield grids to help strengthen the signal. The sooner the Rangers know they're in trouble the better."

With that, Dr. K packed up the last of her things and made her way with the Colonel to his jeep. She knew that logically there was nothing more she could do for them, and that their chances of surviving a full-scale ambush with the means at their disposal were not good. However, thinking about Scott as her heart ached to be able to see him, to know he was alright, she felt an irrational optimism that they would make it. She knew what it was, but she had never been encouraged to follow anything so illogical. It was faith.

In the dead of night, the Go-Onger was heading along a long stretch of anonymous road. Flynn turned on the cold air to help keep himself awake as he looked for any sign that he was heading in the right direction. Scott came into the passenger seat, sitting beside him.

"Couldn't sleep?" Flynn asked as Scott strapped himself in.

"No. I figured I'd let Ziggy get some shut-eye. There's no reason for all of us to lose sleep." He replied, picking up the map. "Besides, it isn't fair that only you're still awake."

"You still feel guilty, don't you?" Flynn asked him. Scott hated that about the Blue Ranger. He had a habit of being able to read them.

"Flynn, this isn't the time." Scott reprimanded him. "We're looking for..."

"Scott, we're on a freeway that leads directly into the city." He reminded the Red Ranger. "It's not like we have anything better to do. You're thinking about Dr. K aren't you?"

"I just haven't been feeling too good about myself since it happened." Scott admitted. "Dad was right to be ashamed of me. I never would have thought I'd be the kind of guy to raise a hand to a girl."

"You had just found out she was responsible for releasing the Venjix virus." Flynn reminded him. "We were all upset when we found out. Dillon looked like he was ready to tear her apart."

"You gave her the benefit of the doubt." Scott sighed in response. "I didn't even give her a chance."

"Look, I never lost any relatives in the Venjix attacks. It's just been me and dad since I was 4 years old, and we both made it to the dome." Flynn told him. "You lost your brother, and you found out that Dr. K was responsible for the war he died in. I can't imagine what that must feel like, but I can tell you this much. If I'd lost dad, I don't know what I'd have done. I can't guarantee I'd have been as understanding."

"You don't get it Flynn; I took the word of the guy who admitted to killing Marcus, I didn't even ask her about it." Scott said, looking down at his knuckles regretfully. "I haven't been able to look her in the face since it happened."

"Maybe when the swelling goes down?" Flynn asked him. Scott gave him a withering look.

"Not exactly the point Flynn." He answered quietly.

"Look, I'd be worried if you weren't ashamed." Flynn told him. "I don't want to meet the guy that feels like a hero after slapping a 70 pound girl across the room."

"All I can think about is the way she looked at me when I'd done it." Scott told him honestly. "I can't get it out of my mind. I know I hurt her, but the way she looked at me, it was so much more than that."

"She understands why you did it." Flynn assured him. "If you still feel badly about it, you can make it up to her when you get back."

"I'm not sure about that." Scott replied. "I don't know if she'll ever trust me again. To be honest, I don't know if I can trust myself again."

"If she didn't trust you, she wouldn't have sent you with us." Flynn said reassuringly. "Your dad gave us the Go-Onger because he has faith in you. Marcus chose you for Eagle Squadron because he had faith in you. Maybe it's about time you had some faith in..."

"Flynn, look!" Scott interrupted him, pointing out a sign. Flynn smiled as he saw it. It read "Omega City, 5 miles."

"Pull into that building over there." Scott instructed him, pointing to an old warehouse. "There's no point heading into the city until morning. Without light, we'd be wasting our time. The sun should be up in a few hours. Until then, we can get some rest."

Flynn pulled into the warehouse, before killing the engine, though leaving the battery on. He flicked a few switches.

"The perimeter alarm's on, it should let us know if anything gets within 20 feet." Flynn informed him, making his way into the back. "Scott, everything will be fine."

Scott checked their communications relay, finding that there was not a strong enough signal to send a video comm. He wanted to send a message to his father and Dr. K to let them know that they were safe, and to let them all know about the new discovery. Like it or not, he knew that Venjix had them bang to rights. They should never have survived the attack earlier, and they wouldn't have if it wasn't for the intervention of...whoever it was that saved them. All he knew was that a pair of Zords had saved them, destroying Venjix's craft. It was possible they had also destroyed his body, though he knew it would be too much to hope for that the war would be over so easily.

Getting another idea, he connected up a keyboard to the communications relay. He knew he couldn't send a visual message, and he wasn't able to send a written communication but there was a small possibility of sending a message another way.

Over at central command, Dr. K and the Colonel arrived to find Vasquez and Hicks the only ones left in the office. Hicks was noticeably bruised and burned from the explosion he was injured by during the battle in the Central Command building. His right arm was held tightly around him by a sling, and he moved very gingerly.

"I sent everyone home." Hicks informed him, saluting with his left hand, since his right was currently immobilised. Colonel Truman returned the gesture, not calling attention to the fact. "I knew you'd want as few people involved in this as possible."

"Thank you Corporal Hicks." He replied.

"Sir, there's something coming over the radio frequency." Vasquez informed him. "I can't make it out, it sounds like static, but you said to report anything."

"Have you been recording?" He asked her. She just looked at him with a slightly disbelieving look on her face. He held up a hand. "Of course, sorry I asked."

The signal was played loud enough for them all to hear.

"It's just static." Hicks said dismissively.

"It's too steady to be static." Dr. K told him. "I think it's a computer signal, possibly an errant..."

"God, this is what I get for surrounding myself by all of you kids." Colonel Truman said with a smile as he grabbed a pen and paper and started writing.

"Sir?" Hicks asked him.

"I always said that it was a mistake to revise the communications module at the academy." He responded. He smiled as he finished writing. "You obviously both went to the academy after they stopped teaching Morse code."

"I never learned, I never anticipated a situation where it would be used." Dr. K said in an irritated tone, though she was more annoyed at herself than anything else. She always hated being caught a step behind. "What does it say?"

"I taught Scott and Marcus when they were children. He's telling us he's alright, he should be in the city by tomorrow morning, but there is something else." He handed the message to Dr. K. "He said that they saw something you'd be interested in."

Dr. K read the message, and froze as she saw what it said. She went pale and seemed to stop breathing as she got to the end of it.

"Dr. K, are you alright?" Corporal Hicks asked her. She couldn't answer. Her thoughts were so clouded that she couldn't even process what he asked.

"Would you leave us for a second?" Colonel Truman asked them. They did as they were asked, leaving Colonel Truman alone with her. He came to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"I do, I just can't believe it's true." She whispered.

"He said it was Zords." He reminded her. "He said their design was a lot like the ones they have."

"That's because they were built in the Alphabet Soup installation." Dr. K confirmed as she turned to face him. "I built them too."

Meanwhile, at the Venjix compound, Crunch and Shifter came into the room to report. Venjix's body had indeed been destroyed by the Gold and Silver Zords when his fighter was brought down, forcing him to download back into the mainframe.

"What can we do for you Master Venjix?" Shifter asked.

"Are the Rangers in Omega City yet?" It asked in its menacing voice.

"They stopped a little way outside the city." Crunch informed him. "We expect they'll make their move at first light."

"Pathetic humans." Shifter scoffed at this. "They are so inferior to us; they need to rely on light."

"Everything is going as planned." Venjix responded. "Have Dyna Bot wait for them in the central plaza, but tell him to wait until my orders to attack. Until then, the Rangers will learn the true horrors of that city."

"You really want to leave them to the Dregs?" Shifter asked in response.

"They will take good care of the Rangers." Venjix responded as a replacement body was brought into the room and he was downloaded into it. "It doesn't matter if the Dregs destroy them or not. By the time they're finished with them, the Rangers will not be prepared for my attack bot."

As first light came, Flynn fired up the engine, causing the rest of them to waken up. Summer stirred, rubbing her eyes and looking up, realising she had fallen asleep with her head resting on his chest. She pulled away a little, slightly embarrassed as she saw the look in his eyes.

"You look pretty first thing in the morning." He teased her. Summer hit him in the chest and looked for a mirror to sort out her hair.

As she did so, she tilted the mirror a little so she could see Dillon. Noticing that he was still looking at her, she felt a little tightness in her chest as she thought about it. It was only a few months ago that she could barely let him touch her. Now though, she had slept in his arms. She felt so comfortable and at ease with him now that she knew she was safe enough to allow herself to be vulnerable. Fixing her hair, she put the mirror away and smiled as a thought came to her. Not only did she not panic in his embrace, now she felt good, and she wanted to do it again.

"Omega City centre is right up ahead!" Flynn told them. "This is it ladies and gentlemen, everyone out."

They all disembarked, looking around in wonder at the city. In its glory days, it must have been magnificent to see, though now it was a mere shell of itself. Dillon wandered the streets slowly.

"Dillon, do you remember anything?" Summer asked him. "Is anything familiar?"

"Not so far." He muttered. "I'm not sure."

"Well let's just stay sharp everyone." Scott told them.

"Guys, does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Ziggy asked them.

"Oh please don't start that again." Flynn grumbled. "Do you have to jinx it?"

"Look, no one's lived here in years." Scott told him. "Look around you, do you see anybody?"

"I guess not." Ziggy said, hugging himself for comfort, looking around cautiously. As they went on, they never noticed a movement in the shadows, following their every movement. Flynn couldn't have been more wrong. They were being watched. The Dregs were on the hunt.


	4. The Dregs on the Hunt

The Rangers were making their way through the city slowly. Dillon looked around, hoping to find some kind of clue to his past. Summer was walking beside him, her arm laced with his for comfort as he surveyed the area.

"Do you recognise anything?" She asked him. He shook his head sadly.

"This is a mistake." He commented. "I should have recognised something by now."

"You can't rush these things." She reminded him. "Kenmore square is coming up soon. That was what you saw, maybe that'll trigger something."

They heard some rubble shifting, causing them all to snap around, looking up to a window four floors up, in time to watch some debris and dust falling, but could see nothing inside.

"What was that?" Flynn asked.

"I told you, I think we're being watched." Ziggy replied. "Guys, maybe we should check it out."

"Ziggy, I keep telling you, you're being paranoid." Scott said weakly, though he continued to keep his eyes trained on the window. "There's no one out here. Come on guys, stick together. Let's just find what we're looking for and get out of here."

Back at Central Command, Hicks and Vasquez were working frantically to re-establish contact with the Rangers.

"I've diverted 15 percent of the city's shield power to the signal." Vasquez informed her.

"I have connection." Dr. K yelled as she prepared to relay her message. "This is Dr. K for the Rangers. Is anyone there?"

There was no answer, and if the image was anything to go by, it looked like the Go-Onger was empty.

"Dr. K to the Rangers, come in!" She screamed in vain, hoping that someone would answer. Unfortunately it looked like they had already disembarked and went in search of answers that she now knew didn't exist, at least, not there. "Rangers, you're walking into a trap. Dillon's memories aren't real. They were downloaded by Venjix."

She paused for a second, composing herself.

"Rangers, I know who about the Gold and Silver Zords!" She yelled. "They can be trusted. If you get the chance..."

A section of the control panel sparked with a loud crack, and the signal went dead.

"We lost the signal." Vasquez told her.

"Rangers! Rangers!" She screamed at the screen. "Scott! Someone answer me!"

"The signal's lost." Hicks reiterated. "The board's fried. It needs to be replaced before we can try again."

"I've diverted power back to the shields." Colonel Truman told her. "We'll try again when we've run repairs."

"Thank you Colonel." She replied sadly. "I just feel so helpless here. I wish I could let them know that their journey's been completely..."

An alert from one of her diagnostics checks sounded, bringing her attention to something. "...pointless."

She read the schematics, getting a slightly puzzled look on her face. She saw the Colonel watching her work and knew he was as concerned as she was.

"I got the computer to run the false memory programme to decrypt the image." She informed him. "I wanted to see what Dillon did."

"Are you telling me you can watch what Venjix sent him?" Colonel Truman asked her.

"I thought that if we knew what he saw, it might give us some idea what Venjix had planned." She replied. They both watched the image as she pulled it up on the screen.

"This isn't right, this isn't what he described." Dr. K told him.

"He said he remembered Kenmore." Colonel Truman reminded her. "That's what we're seeing."

"That's ALL we're seeing." She stated. She checked a few lines of code. "A code was inserted into it to give him feelings of happiness and contentment, to make him feel comfortable and convince him the memory was real."

"So what's different?" Colonel Truman asked her.

"Dillon isn't in the image that Venjix downloaded." Dr. K said as she ran it through one more time. "Neither is the blind girl he told us about."

"He said they were both in Kenmore." Colonel Truman gasped in realisation. "If the only thing in Dillon's memory that's artificial is Kenmore..."

"His mind's feeling of contentment confused him and inserted the image of himself and the blind girl because he had those feelings around her." Dr. K told him. "That image is from his actual memory. Colonel Truman...the blind girl is real."

Back in Omega City, the Rangers all assembled in the central plaza. Dillon found a food-court a little way off, picking up a chair and righting it, taking a seat. Summer joined him as he held his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, none of this seems familiar." Dillon told them.

"Dillon its fine, we all know you're trying." Summer said reassuringly. She looked up at the others. "Would you guys give us a minute?"

"We should probably see if we can get a message to Dr. K." Scott said, flicking a thumb back in the direction of the Go-Onger. "Will you guys be alright here?"

"We'll be fine." Summer told him. "Stay in touch."

"We'll be back as soon as we can." Scott told her. He, Flynn and Ziggy all ran off, leaving them alone in the food court. Summer smiled at him.

"You know, this kind of reminds me that we haven't had a real date yet." She teased him, looking around at the food court. "It looks like this would have been a great place to eat back in the day."

"I wouldn't know." Dillon responded. "I can't remember anything."

"You can't force it." Summer reminded him, reaching across the table and taking his hand. "Maybe if you stop trying to remember, your mind would be able to sort things out and something would just pop into that skull of yours."

"How am I meant to stop thinking about this?" Dillon asked her.

"Maybe have something to distract you?" She suggested. "You know, we are alone."

Dillon let out a short snigger as he heard this, looking into her eyes. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed that before. He leaned across the table, drawing closer to her. Unfortunately they were far from alone. As they prepared for their lips to meet, the first attack came, throwing them apart. Dillon pulled himself up from the wreckage, seeing a few figures beginning to make their way towards him in a shuffling, ungainly manner. He squinted to see through the dust as they approached.

"Dillon!" He heard Summer screaming as he tried to move. He got up and rushed towards her, but was sent flying as the first of his attackers surged forward with surprising speed. He was sent flying several feet by the attack, into one of the food stalls. He looked down, seeing that his t-shirt was sliced open and blood was seeping through from a number of wounds in his chest.

His eyes opened wide as he watched the first of his attackers limp into view. He couldn't believe what he saw.

"RPM, Get in Gear!" He called out as he got back to his feet, preparing to defend himself. "Summer!"

Meanwhile, over by the Go-Onger, the Rangers arrived, getting into the vehicle. Ziggy was still more than a little jumpy, and looking around desperately for the unseen eyes he was sure he felt watching their every move.

"There's a recorded message." Scott told them. He played the message.

"Dr. K to the Rangers, come in! Rangers, you're walking into a trap. Dillon's memories aren't real. They were downloaded by Venjix. Rangers, I know who about the Gold and Silver Zords!" She yelled. "They can be trusted. If you get the chance..."

"The memories aren't real?" Flynn asked.

"It's a trap; this has all been to get us out of the dome." Scott surmised. "Flynn, take Ziggy and get back to the others and warn them. I need to get a message to Dr. K."

"Guys, I think we might have our own problems here." Ziggy stated, pointing out of the window. They all looked in horror as they saw the monstrosities approaching them.

They looked vaguely human, though they each had extensive cybernetic modifications. Their steps were shambling and erratic as a consequence of modifications ranging between external powered callipers to outright robotic replacements. Arms had been replaced with bionics of varying refinement. Some were simple assortments of blades, others were saws. Some of them had massive claws that looked to be easily capable of tearing apart steel, while others had bionic hands.

The closest one moved close enough for them to get a good look at the true horror of the twisted creature. Denims covered the little flesh that remained on his legs, though they were mostly metal anyway. His torso was bare, showing its horribly scarred flesh. It was as though whoever had performed the procedure to make this creature had no idea what he was doing. Its right arm had been replaced by a heady duty drill, while it's left was a completely bionic arm, with a large hand, carrying four fingers. Its skull had been partially replaced by steel, giving it one glowing green eye. The other was completely white, and lifeless. Its drill arm started revving up mercilessly.

"What in the hell are they?" Flynn gasped as he saw them.

"I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry to find out." Ziggy replied. "Who votes we fire up this bus, find the others and get the hell out of here?"

"For once I'm with Ziggy." Scott replied. "Flynn..."

Unfortunately, the first of the creatures had gotten close enough to attack. Its drill arm tore through the side of the hull like it was tin foil. Two more grabbed the edges of the breach and tore it open.

Another creature behind them slammed a large wrecking-ball like weapon into the back of the vehicle, causing it to collapse on its base.

"They've snapped the axle!" Flynn screamed. "We're going nowhere!"

"In a few minutes there isn't going to be anything left." Scott announced as the other side was torn apart by a couple of murderous looking claws. "Guys, it's time to morph."

"Ziggy!" Flynn screamed as he watched the Green Ranger being pulled out of the vehicle by a couple of the creatures. He could only look on helplessly as a couple of the creatures dragged him away from view. He could see that the way they restrained him he could not reach his morpher.

"RPM, Get in Gear!" They both called out, morphing into Ranger form, before making their way out of the Go-Onger, fighting for all they were worth.

"These things are tough!" Flynn yelled as he smashed a couple aside. They started to stir and get back to their feet, resuming their attack.

"We need to get to Ziggy!" Scott replied as he smashed a few of them to the ground with his burst attack. They too started to return to the attack. One of them though appeared to be too damaged to continue and remained on the floor. "Man, they just don't quit!"

"There are too many of them!" Flynn complained. "I can't even see him anymore!"

"They've got Summer too!" Dillon informed them as he arrived on the scene, smashing down a few of them with his rocket blaster.

"How did you get away?" Scott asked him.

"He got some help..." A voice answered as the Gold Ranger arrived on the scene, carving a few of them down with his Cloud Hatchet.

"...From a couple of new friends." The Silver Ranger completed the statement as she too arrived, lashing out at the creatures.

"Are you ready to put these Dregs on ice?" The Gold Ranger asked her.

"Cloud Hatchet, Ice Mode!" They called out together. As they swung their weapons, energy waves were sent forward, freezing a number of the creatures where they stood. The next swipe smashed them all to the ground. Some of the creatures struggled, but couldn't return to their feet. The rest of them realised that with the arrival of the new enemies, they were overmatched. As they fled, they grabbed their fallen, dragging them with them. Scott saw one of the fallen as it was dragged away, and could see it screaming, though not in pain. The look on its face was one of fear.

"OK, who are you?" Scott asked the new arrivals. The Gold and Silver Rangers recalled their helmets, exposing their faces. They were Asian, one male and the other female. Strangely for having just engaged in such a ferocious battle, they were both grinning broadly, flashing huge, bright smiles at them.

"I'm Gem..."

"...and I'm Gemma..."

"...We saw your friend was in trouble..."

"...We're glad we could help." Gemma concluded. The remaining three Rangers just stared at them, completely dumbfounded. Eventually Scott broke the silence.

"Ok, so what were those things?" He asked them. "Where did they take our friends?"

"They're called Dregs..."

"...they're early attempts by Venjix to..."

"...create human/robot hybrids..."

"...as infiltration units..." Gem was cut off as Scott held up a hand.

"OK, could you please stop talking like that?" He asked them in an annoyed tone. He pointed to Gem. They both looked at each other, wordlessly communicating their shared memory of being asked the exact same thing by the only friend they'd ever known. Now that they had seen the Rangers in action, they knew for a fact they were right, and that they were using the technology Dr. K had created. "Ok, Gem is it? You tell us."

"Venjix tried to create infiltration units to slip into cities unseen and disrupt the defence efforts." He explained. Flynn and Scott looked to Dillon, thinking about the technology within him. "Those were the failures of that experiment."

"So they're like rejects?" Scott asked him. Gem and Gemma nodded.

"Hundreds of humans were taken to a factory in this city to be processed as infiltrators." Gem continued. "The lucky ones didn't survive the procedure. The rest were modified, but Venjix didn't know enough about human physiology to successfully create covert technology, so it went through them one-by one, experimenting to try and get it right. Those that were too damaged by experimentation were given additional exoskeletal implants to make them weapons and released into the city to hunt for any humans attempting to bring down the factory. Their minds were wiped to leave them with only basic instinct to go on. They live in a pack, hunting and gathering to survive, centred in the warehouse."

"So they've taken our friends to that warehouse?" Dillon asked them. "We have to go and get them."

"We'll help you..."

"...We only hope we're not..."

"...too late." Gemma finished.

"OK, that could get really annoying." Flynn commented.

"What do you mean too late?" Scott asked them. "It looked like it was scared."

Gem and Gemma looked at each other a little regretfully. Eventually Gemma turned back to them.

"It was scared because it knows what's going to happen to it." She told them. "Come on, we don't have much time."

Ziggy was dragged into a warehouse a few blocks from the central plaza by the Dregs, struggling as he went.

Looking around, he saw several large, metal storage pods lining the walls. Walkways separated it into many levels, and pods lined the walls of every floor. It looked like the place had been a lab of some description at one time, though now it had fallen into disrepair. It was now filthy, dank, and dark. The Dregs huddled around the place and hung from the balconies like animals. A fire was set up in the centre of the room. Ziggy could smell pork cooking. Looking over between the Dregs gathered around the fire, he could see the ribs rotating on the spit.

"Ziggy!" Summer called out as they arrived by steel scaffolding. Her hands and feet had been tied, spread-eagled, preventing her from escaping or accessing her morpher.

"Summer?" He asked her as they shoved him roughly to the scaffolding and tied him into place in the same way. "Summer, are you alright?"

"I'm OK for the time being." She said in a panicked voice. "Ziggy, do you know what happened to the others?"

"I saw Dillon as they took me away." He informed her. "They're not here, that's all I can say for sure."

"I really hope they're OK." Summer said as she looked over to the fire in horror. "They're our only chance."

"Summer, what are you so scared of?" He asked her. "The others will get us out of this. These things have probably captured us so they can keep us here for Venjix..."

"I think their plans are a little more immediate than that." She told him. "Ziggy..."

"Summer, they're not going to do anything for a while yet." He assured her. "Look, they're cooking up that pork..."

"Ziggy, how many pigs have you seen walking around here?" She asked him, looking at him. Ziggy could see terror in her eyes as she breathed faster. She flashed a look back to the fire.

Ziggy turned to see what she was looking at. It was only then that he took a closer look at what was on the spit. One of the Dregs pulled off a piece, taking a couple of large bites, tearing the meat from it, before throwing it at his feet. It was a human arm, with strips of metal bolted directly into the bone. Looking back to the thing on the spit, he realised that it was one of the Dregs that had fallen in the earlier battle. He was suddenly overcome as the stench assailed his nose and vomited.

"You can't be serious." He coughed as he finally regained composure. "They're cannibals?"

"It looks that way," Summer replied as she looked around, seeing all of the twisted creatures eyeing them hungrily, "and by the looks of it, we're next on the menu."


	5. Taking out the Dregs

Dillon, Scott and Flynn followed their bizarre new allies through the deserted streets of Omega City. It had now been just short of an hour since Summer and Ziggy had been snatched by the nightmarish creatures known as "Dregs". Gem pointed up to a large building a little way off.

"That's the factory..."

"...Your friends are inside..."

"...Come on..."

Scott held up his hand again to stop the twins.

"Remember our new rule?" He asked them. "Decide which one of you is talking and then carry on."

Gem and Gemma faced each other, each forming a fist, bobbing them up and down, before forming the symbols of a piece of paper and a pair of scissors respectively. Having won, Gemma turned back to them.

"Your friends will be inside." She told them. "We should go in and get them before it's too late."

"Hold on a second. We have no idea how many of these things there are." Scott told them. "We should come up with a plan..."

"I've got a plan." Gem said with a childish grin and a boundless enthusiasm. "We shoot first, ask questions later. BOOM!"

"Zap!"

"Kablam!"

"And people say I don't think things through." Dillon grumbled. "Summer and Ziggy are both in there and I want to get them out as much as anyone."

"Then let's go!" Gem declared as he and Gemma morphed and prepared to rush headlong into the building. Dillon grabbed them and held them back.

"Going in there all guns blazing probably isn't the best solution." He warned them. "I can't believe I said that."

"The point is that we should try to get in quietly and scope the situation out first." Scott told them. "There's a window up there. We should get a good view from there."

"Then we go in..."

"...And kick cyborg but..."

"...pow..."

"...thwack..."

"OK, let's make another new rule." Scott barked impatiently. "I make up the plans, and when we discuss them, absolutely NO sound effects!"

Gem and Gemma both nodded obediently as the other three morphed and began making their way up the rubble piled up by the warehouse, approaching the window. Dillon arrived first, looking around inside. He shook his head as he got a mental image.

"Dillon, what's wrong?" Scott asked him. "Can you see them?"

"Not from here." He replied. "It's those pods. Something about them, I feel like I've seen them before."

"Like you saw Kenmore?" Flynn asked him. "Sorry man, but right now your memory isn't the most reliable. We don't know how much of it is real."

"I guess you're right." He answered as they slowly climbed inside, quietly stepping onto a walkway, looking around to ensure that none of the Dregs were watching them. "Come on, let's find the others and get the hell out of here."

As they made their way along the walkway, Flynn inspected one of the pods. There was a plate attached to the door, carrying an identification code.

"Dillon, maybe your memory isn't that bad." He told him. "You should have a look at this."

Dillon looked at the identification on the pod.

"D4." He read aloud. He moved to the next, reading it, and the next, checking a few of them as his voice cracked a little. "D6, D8, D10...guys; the Sat Bot and Venjix both called me D44."

He looked at them, a little rattled as he took in the surroundings. He finally realised where he was.

"Guys, I think this is where I was given my implants." He told them. "I think those things down there are failed attempts to create me."

Back at Central Command, Dr. K was frantically trying to reconnect to the Rangers, but so far all her attempts had been fruitless. Colonel Truman offered her another cup of coffee.

"I'm sorry; I just can't connect a signal. The communications relay must be damaged." She told him. "This is so frustrating!"

"Calm down Dr. K, if anyone can do it, you can." He said reassuringly. "There's no point in getting overwrought."

"I know I shouldn't get this upset, but I can't help it." She complained. "I really wish I knew what was going on."

"It's always the hardest part of co-ordinating a campaign." He told her sagely. "All you can do is sit back and wait for news."

"Perhaps my diagnostics of Tenaya's physiology will take my mind off things." She sighed, turning to another screen. She overlaid Tenaya's x-ray with Dillon's, pinpointing the similarities and differences between them.

"The right arm is completely artificial, that much is hardly surprising. It's how she can detach her hand." Dr. K commented. "That's odd though..."

"What's odd?" Colonel Truman asked her. Dr. K zoomed in on the x-ray of her skull.

"Tenaya has shown to have exceptional hearing, she heard myself and Ranger Green talking on the other side of the lab, and she appears to suffer discomfort whenever I play my violin." She explained. "However, the only modification to her ears appears to be an implant augmenting the inner ear canal."

"Why don't we pretend I'm not a genius?" Colonel Truman said with a confused look on his face.

"The inner ear canal is the fluid-filled tubes inside the ear that handle the human body's balance and equilibrium. Tenaya's appears to have been modified, which would explain why she is as acrobatic as she is." Dr. K continued. "However, none of those modifications would affect her hearing at all."

"Perhaps she just had good hearing before she was captured by Venjix." Colonel Truman suggested. Dr. K continued to study the implants in her head.

"She had severely augmented visual acuities as we know, allowing her increased range, weapons scanning capabilities and several other improvements all wired directly into her..."

Dr. K's words tailed off as she realised that something was amiss.

"Dr. K, what have you found?" Colonel Truman asked her.

"To be more accurate it's what I didn't find that's bizarre." She explained. "The hardware augmenting her visual abilities is wired directly into her visual cortex in the brain, and also into her eyes. I thought it was connected to her retinas, but that isn't the case. She has artificial retinas that were created for the purpose."

"Perhaps Venjix thought that the retinas were obsolete and replaced them." Hicks suggested as he came up to the screen.

"I don't think so Corporal Hicks, since no such modification was made to Dillon, I would doubt that. There also doesn't seem to be evidence of surgical removal. The optic nerve endings are severely underdeveloped..."

"So you're saying the retinas weren't replaced because she never had any?" Colonel Truman asked her. "But that would mean..."

"That's correct Colonel Truman, it would mean that before her modification, Tenaya was blind." She told him. "She would have been blind since she was born."

She groaned in frustration and pounded her hands down on the desk as another thought came to her.

"How could I have been so stupid?" She snarled, bringing up another file. "Of all the half-assed, sloppy schoolchild errors..."

"Dr. K calm down, what are you getting so worked up about?" Colonel Truman asked her.

"You know that when Dillon arrived I ran a DNA test against the central database to see if he had any relatives in Corinth?" She asked him. Colonel Truman and Hicks both nodded as they stared blankly at her. "I did the same thing with Tenaya. However, after a failure to find a genetic match for Dillon, I didn't add his DNA to the database, so when I ran Tenaya's sample, it was checked against everyone in Corinth EXCEPT Dillon."

The computer flashed up a message confirming her suspicion.

"They're a match." She announced. "Dillon's never seen her face-to-face, she always had her visor on when she fought him, and he never goes into her cell. Venjix must have known."

She turned to them, her eyes wide with the realisation.

"The blind girl in Dillon's dreams isn't just real; she's been under our noses now for all this time." She informed them. "Tenaya is the girl from Dillon's dreams. She's his sister."

Back at the factory, the Rangers finally came to an area they could see the rest of the warehouse, finding the Dregs all gathered around the fire. Dillon made his way forward, activating the telescopic mode on his helmet's visor.

"There are dozens of these things." He commented. "I can't see exactly how many."

"Does it matter?" Gem asked them. "Let's get down there..."

"What did we agree about plans?" Scott asked him. Gem just nodded in understanding. "Can you see Summer or Ziggy?"

"There they are." Flynn whispered, pointing to the far end of the warehouse where they were still tied to the scaffolding. Dillon zoomed in, checking on their condition, satisfying himself that they were both alive, and were not injured in any way that would significantly hamper their abilities.

"There are a pair of those things guarding them." Dillon pointed out. "It doesn't look like we'll be able to get them out without being seen."

"Then we need to free them quickly." Scott told them. "If those things know we're here..."

"We'll cut your friends loose..."

"...Follow our lead..."

"...Then get out of here." Gem concluded as he and his sister started working their way around the catwalk. Scott shook his head.

"I am never going to get used to that." He remarked.

"They have been out here a while." Flynn said with a shrug. "They are entitled to be a little odd."

Without warning, Gem and Gemma launched themselves from the balcony, taking down the two Dregs guarding the other Rangers.

"I must have missed the signal." Dillon growled as he leapt over the balcony, joined quickly by the others and started fighting his way through the assembled creatures.

"We're here to help!" Gemma yelled as she cut Summer down.

"Your friends are here too." Gem added as he released Ziggy. The Green Ranger got up and looked at the new arrivals curiously.

"You're the ones that helped us before aren't you?" He asked them.

"We sure are." Gem replied as he combined his cloud hatchet and his blaster. "Come on, we need to get you out of here!"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Summer replied as she and Ziggy prepared their morphers. "RPM, Get in Gear!"

"Guys, are you alright?" Scott asked them.

"Fortunately you got to us before we ended up on the menu." Ziggy responded as he powered up the Power Axe.

"I'll be fine." Summer told him as she joined the fight. "Come on guys, we need to get out of here. There are too many of these things."

"We need more space to move." Scott agreed. "Dillon, make us a door!"

"Not a problem." He answered as he pulled out the Rocket Blaster, punching a hole in the wall nearby. "Come on guys, this way."

The Rangers beat a hasty retreat, making their way back towards the stricken Go-Onger. They formed a defensive perimeter around the vehicle.

"Flynn, how long will it take you to get this thing moving?" Scott asked.

"The axle's broken; I could probably weld it in..."

His words were cut off as a large bomb landed on what was left of its hull, attaching magnetically to it. The Rangers scattered just in time as the bomb went off, utterly destroying the vehicle. As the dust cleared, Flynn observed the smoking crater where the Go-Onger once stood.

"Your dad is so going to kick my arse for this." Flynn grumbled.

"We can't worry about that now." Scott told him. "I think our friends have just caught up with us."

The Dregs arrived in the plaza, but stopped in their tracks. They started backing slowly away, leaving the Rangers untouched.

"Maybe they're scared of us." Ziggy suggested. "I mean we have kicked quite a few of their..."

"I don't think it's us they're scared of." Flynn interrupted him quietly, turning Ziggy around.

"I guess we should have seen that coming." He sighed as the Dyna Bot strode into view, accompanied by Grinders.

"I see you've already met your cousins Ranger Black." Dyna Bot taunted him. "Welcome to Omega City Rangers."

He threw another bomb in their direction, this time they were ready though. Gem leapt forward, batting it back with his Cloud Hatchet, destroying the attack bot and the Grinders with his own explosive.

"That was a little easier than I'd have thought." Scott commented, before watching Dyna Bot growing to massive size. "Why did I have to say that?"

"Our energy levels have almost bottomed out, but I think the doc's mobile down-morpher is still working." Flynn told him. "Maybe it's time to use that one Zord configuration we have."

"I think that sounds like a plan." Scott agreed. "Zenith Megazord, Online!"

Dyna Bot marched on them, swinging wildly and smashing into the zord's chest, staggering it.

"Guys, this thing is seriously kicking our butts!" Ziggy complained as he straightened himself out. "We can't keep taking shots like this!"

"Time for the Wheel Blaster?" Flynn asked.

"Good call Flynn." Scott replied. One blast later, and the attack bot was destroyed.

"I think we should have enough energy to use the Zord to get us back to the city." Flynn suggested as he checked their power levels once more.

"Flynn, we need to use the Wheel Blaster again." Scott told him in a sigh. "We have to destroy that factory."

"But how will we get back to the city?" Flynn asked him. "Come on, they're out here, we're in there..."

"Flynn, you never saw what those things are, we did." Summer replied gently, looking at him. "There may still be people out here, people that those things will hunt down. They have to be destroyed."

"But they're human." Dillon protested. Ziggy put a hand sympathetically on his arm.

"Maybe they were once, but not anymore." He replied regretfully. "Their minds have been completely erased; they have no compassion or reason. They don't have lives anymore, they only have an existence. It's the most humane thing to do."

"I guess you're right." He said sadly as he considered the fact that it was only fate that had made him a successful trial of the infiltration unit technology. He had always thought of himself as having lost everything, but seeing the Dregs for himself, he realised what losing everything really was. "Go for Wheel Blaster."

The Rangers fired off a second blast, expending the last of their energy, the factory exploded devastatingly, being reduced to rubble. With the last of their energy expended, the Zords disappeared and they de-morphed, leaving them standing in the street.

"Did it work?" Scott asked as Gem and Gemma came over to them. Gem performed a scan of the area.

"There are only seven life signatures in the city." He confirmed.

"Well I guess that just leaves the question of how we get back to Corinth." Flynn sighed.

"Our Zords don't require a down morpher to activate." Gemma informed them. "We could always give you a lift."

"We only have one condition." Gem chipped in. "Can you..."

"...take us with you...?"

"...because of the radiation..."

"...we couldn't find our way to Corinth..."

"It's fine." Summer interrupted them. "If you give us a ride, we'll take you to Dr. K. I have a feeling she'd like to meet you."

Gem and Gemma looked at each other, grinning and nodding with a childish glee. They knew the Rangers used the technology Dr. K had created, so they suspected that she was still alive. Now though, Summer had confirmed it. Their only friend had indeed survived the attack on the Alphabet Soup facility. Soon they would be reunited with her. They both called fourth their Zords.

"Well, are we going to Corinth?" Gemma asked them. Summer and Dillon made their way into her Zord. Ziggy was about to follow them, only to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck by Flynn.

"I think they might want a little privacy." He suggested to the Green Ranger. "Come on, there is another Zord waiting for us."

"Come on guys, I can't wait to see Corinth!" Gem said excitedly, rushing to the cockpit.

"At least they do this separately." Scott grumbled as they made their way on board.

In the Silver Zord, Summer was enjoying having Dillon all to herself. She settled into his arms as he held her gently, allowing her to rest against him.

"I can't imagine how you're feeling." She whispered to him as she closed her eyes, settling into a more comfortable position.

"I'm just happy to know that you're safe." He replied, kissing the top of her head gently. He pulled her in more closely to him, allowing her to sit on his lap. "You've had a pretty big day there."

"Almost becoming the main course is definitely not something I want to repeat in a hurry." She murmured. "Dillon, I know you didn't want to destroy them, but we had to. You know that right?"

"Summer, I almost was one of them." He replied. "Venjix kept trying until it got it right. Those things were once people too..."

"We did the only thing we could for them." She reminded him, looking up into his eyes. "You can't for one minute think that you're anything like them. They had all their humanity taken away. Even if we had captured them, there was nothing that could have been done. We didn't have a choice."

"It just doesn't make me feel great to know that all those people suffered to make me." He replied as he squeezed her gently. "It kind of makes me wish..."

"Don't say it!" She warned him sharply. "Don't even think it, not for one second!"

"Summer..."

"Dillon, I love you!" She told him abruptly. "What Venjix did to those people is awful, but it doesn't change the fact that you are different. You're your own man. More than that, you're the man that I love."

She grabbed his t-shirt, pulling him in and kissing him passionately, running her hands through his hair. As they parted, she looked deeply into his eyes and smiled. There was no more fear. She felt nothing of the dread that she once had. He was everything to her.

Back in the dome, Dr. K was scanning the area for signals, hoping for some form of communication from the Rangers, only to catch a couple of readings on the radar. Two craft were approaching the city fast.

"Hicks, how are the shields holding up?" Colonel Truman asked him.

"They're at full power." Hicks informed him.

"Vasquez, are there any life signatures aboard those craft?" He asked her.

"No sir, there's nothing alive on those craft." She said in response.

"Then prepare to repel if they should threaten the integrity of the shields."

"Colonel Truman, lower the shields." Dr. K commanded him as a bright smile split her face. She checked her readings again to be sure, only confirming the identity of the craft. "The craft are friendly."

"There are no life signs aboard those craft." He told her.

"Colonel Truman, trust me. They have cloaking technology which masks life signs." She told him. She looked over to him pre-empting his question. "I created that technology. I know how to track it. It's the Rangers!"

Colonel Truman didn't need any further convincing. He gestured to Hicks to lower the shields as he was instructed. On the Zords, the Rangers noticed the shields being lowered.

"They know we're coming." Scott said with a smile. "We're home."

"We sure are." Gem replied. "Now, where can we land these things?"

"There's an air-strip near the Garage." He informed the Gold Ranger. "Set it down there."

The Rangers made their way into the Garage a short time later, taking comfort in knowing that they were finally home and safe.

"Dr. K, we're back!" Scott called out loudly, though receiving no reply.

"I have to warn you, our boss Dr. K takes a little getting used to." Ziggy warned the Gold and Silver Rangers. "She can be a little cold and distant..."

"Gem?" Dr. K asked as she arrived with Colonel Truman. "Gemma?"

The two new Rangers both de-morphed, allowing her to see their true identity. Dr. K ran over to them, leaping up at them enthusiastically and hugging them both with a passion none of the Rangers had ever seen from her.

"We've really missed you Dr. K." Gem told her.

"We thought you were dead." Gemma responded tearfully as they held her closely. The other Rangers just watched on dumbstruck by the scene.

"I guess she's trying a new management style." Ziggy commented sarcastically.

"Friends of yours?" Dillon asked her. Dr. K finally released them, turning to face him and wiping away her tears.

"Gem and Gemma were my only friends at Alphabet Soup." She told them. "They were the original test pilots for the Ranger Series technology."

As Dr. K and the two new arrivals hugged each other again, completely lost in the moment of being returned to each other once more, Colonel Truman came over to the Rangers.

"So what happened to the Go-Onger?" He asked them. Scott and Flynn just looked at each other uneasily.


	6. Family

The Rangers all split off to end the hectic day in their own way. Scott and Flynn took Col. Truman into the guy's bedroom to explain to him exactly why his beloved Go-Onger was destroyed. In many ways the others were glad the rooms were sound-proof. Although they knew he was glad they had returned safely, that didn't completely get them off the hook for destroying his beloved van.

Summer and Dillon walked off in each other's arms, heading in the direction of her...well...now the girl's room. Since Gemma had arrived, and there were no other bedrooms available, it could probably be presumed that she would end up bunking with Summer.

Ziggy went into Tenaya's cell to talk to her. She was watching a cartoon on the large screen in the room. Even though she wasn't looking at the door, and he couldn't help thinking about how beautiful she was. As another joke reached the punch line, she laughed. He couldn't help the feeling in his stomach when she did that. Her laugh was musical to him, making his heart turn over in his chest. He regularly did magic tricks and told her jokes just so he could hear her laughing. He came over behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention.

"Ziggy, I didn't hear you..."

Her words were cut off as he pressed his lips to hers; kissing her with a passion he had never felt before. At first her eyes shot open in amazement, but she quickly felt her heart melting and her arms wrapped around him, holding him as her heart beat faster. She closed her eyes, relishing every moment of this sensation, before they finally parted.

"I almost died." He told her. "The only thing I could think about was that I never told you how I feel about you."

Tenaya looked at him dumbfounded, not knowing how to react at this time. Ziggy pulled over a stool, sitting next to her.

"Tenaya, I can't expect you to understand this, or to return my feelings, but ever since you've come to us...I've fallen for you." He told her. "I know..."

Tenaya grabbed his shirt and pulled him in, kissing him passionately. He couldn't believe that she returned the feelings he had for her. He stared at her in disbelief as she finally released him.

"You're the only one who's ever had faith in me." She whispered. "Every time I'm with you, I can hardly breathe. At first I thought I was sick or allergic, but not feeling those feelings was so much worse than feeling them."

She smiled as she looked into his eyes. She now understood what Sam had tried to explain in the warehouse all that time ago when she said she'd rather die than see Flynn hurt. She was so happy to see him return to her; she just wanted to hold him and never let him go.

"Ziggy...I love you."

Ziggy grabbed her, holding her to him in a warm embrace. Only a few hours ago, his future seemed to involve being slow-roasted on an open fire to be eaten, but he had never once been scared for himself. All he had thought about was what his mother...the matron...Ms. Foster had told him. He loved Tenaya, and he continued to deny the fact merely because he was scared about what the others would think. Now though, he couldn't care less. He loved her, and she loved him in return. Nothing could be more right than that.

Up in her room, Summer and Dillon were sharing a kiss following their recent ordeal. She looked at him a little sympathetically.

"I'm sorry you didn't find the answers you wanted." She told him.

"I guess I always knew the answers might not be pleasant." He murmured as he looked at her, taking in her beauty. "I suppose we at least know I was in Omega City."

"Dillon..."

"I can't believe I was suckered in like that!" He snarled, pounding a fist into the bed sheets. "I should have known! The blind girl...the feelings of happiness...having a life...it was all bullshit!"

"Dillon, you can't help the fact that gave you false memories." She told him warmly. "You could have been a multi-millionaire playboy like Chas, or you could have been a garbage collector called Eustace for all I care. Who you were isn't important."

"It is to me." He muttered.

"It isn't to me." She replied sympathetically, taking his hand in hers and pressing her forehead to his. She kissed the end of his nose. "You're Dillon now, and it's Dillon I fell in love with."

She put her hands on his shoulders, pressing him to the bed gently. Dillon looked up at her with a grin on his face.

"This might give a guy ideas." He sniggered.

"That's kind of the idea." She replied, pulling off her t-shirt. Dillon held up a hand, looking at her a little scared.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked her. "You know I'd never force you or..."

Summer silenced him by kissing him warmly. She sat up, pulling off his t-shirt and taking in his amazing body with her eyes.

"Dillon, I'm ready." She told him. "I'm not afraid."

He reached around her, pulling her into himself as he prepared for what he was sure would be the most amazing experience of his life.

The following morning, Col. Truman made his way into the physiotherapy room, finding Chas doing exercises to strengthen his injured leg.

After the battle, he had suffered many injuries, some of which would be permanent. He was wearing only sweat pants, which left the true extent of his scarring exposed. A large part of the right side of his chest, shoulder and face was still red, and blistered as a result of his burns. He no longer needed the dressing over his eye, his vision having returned, but the burns would take longer to subside. Even when they had faded, he would still have extensive scars as a reminder of the battle.

"You're doing well." Col. Truman complimented him. "Your recovery is impressive."

"I don't want to be on the shelf for too long." He replied. "I know you need me back as..."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that." Colonel Truman interrupted him. "I was actually thinking that the position of Mayor would be more fitting for you."

"I'm not a politician." Chas told him as he finished his set, stroking his leg gently. "I hate the political bullshit."

"So do I, but we need a mayor with Corinth's best interests at heart." Truman replied.

"You saw what happened before because I wanted to be Mayor." Chas sighed, mopping himself down with a towel. "I don't think..."

"In my experience, the ones who think they can handle power and seek it are rarely the ones who should be trusted with it." He responded.

"But sir..."

"Chas, this is a vote of confidence." Colonel Truman assured him. "Were you a jerk? Of course you were. I wouldn't have trusted you with the responsibility of replacing the toner cartridge in my printer before the battle, but you showed me your true colours there."

"I'm sure there are plenty of qualified people..."

"Actually there's only one person who's thrown his hat into the ring." Colonel Truman interrupted him, putting down a newspaper. Chas looked at it, and turned back to him in amazement.

"Dad?" He asked him.

"He wanted a Winchester to run this city." Colonel Truman told him. "Now that you're cut off, he has to do it himself."

Chas got up, pacing the room as he read the article in shock. He knew his dad had political ambitions, but he had been grooming him for that. He couldn't believe that he would take that step himself.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather see you in that office than him." Colonel Truman told him. "I can trust you."

"Dad can't win that election." Chas replied.

"Well if no one runs against him, he'll get it for sure." Colonel Truman told him. "You're the one to stand against him."

"I don't know if I can." Chas told him. "He's disowned me; he doesn't consider me his son which means I'll be an enemy. He's ruthless; I've seen how he treats enemies..."

"Chas, only you can stand against him." Colonel Truman told him. "You'll be fine."

"The gloves are going to come off." He replied. "It'll be brutal..."

"You took on half of my forces and lived to tell the tale." Colonel Truman chuckled. "You'll be fine."

"Sir?" Chas said as he handed him back the paper. "I don't have any money to run a campaign..."

"Let me worry about that." Colonel Truman replied with a grin. "You just worry about that fiancée of yours."

"I will sir." Chas assured him.

"You don't need to call me that anymore." Colonel Truman reminded him, handing him his discharge papers. "You aren't under my command anymore."

As he turned and left, Chas looked at his discharge papers and the newspaper, the nerves obvious in his expression. He didn't trust himself with the office of mayor, that was why he had refused to stand before, but Colonel Truman had all but ordered him to stand.

He looked at the picture of his father in the paper and sighed. He knew how petty and spiteful his father could be, and he didn't relish the prospect of standing against him, especially since he was now persona non grata to his family. Of course, he knew the Colonel was right. No one else had the political wherewithal to stand against him. Only he had any real chance of beating him to the office.

"I guess I'm running for mayor after all." He sighed, depositing the paper in a nearby trash can. "Sorry dad, but you can't get that office."

Back at the Garage, Scott, Flynn, Ziggy and Gem arrived in the main room to find Gemma sleeping on the couch. She stirred and woke up, mopping her lip of drool.

"Uh, why are you sleeping out here?" Flynn asked her. "Your room's through there."

"It was locked." She replied as she rubbed her eyes wearily. Just then, Dillon walked into the room in his boxer shorts, yawning. As he saw the others, he suddenly realised he had slept a lot longer than he intended to. None of the Rangers were under any false impressions given the fact he had walked out of the girl's room.

"Uh...morning?" Ziggy offered weakly. Dillon just looked at the others for a while.

"I should...probably...um....I'm going for a shower." He stammered, seeing their judgemental expressions.

"If he's taken advantage of her..." Scott began, only to be cut off as Flynn held a hand over his mouth.

"He would never do that, he cares about the lass too much." He assured the Red Ranger. "Besides, we all know how rough this has been on her. This is a breakthrough for her."

"Well she'll have a lot to talk about in her next session." Ziggy chipped in. Summer came out, dressed and washed, though her hair was still out of place and messy. She looked up at them in horror.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, checking her watch and realising the time.

"Long enough." Scott replied.

"Um...sorry Gemma." Summer managed to say weakly as she saw her new roommate had obviously spent the night on the couch.

"It was still better than some of the places I've slept." She replied.

"Rangers, there is something I need to brief you on." Dr. K said as she arrived. "Glad to see you're finally awake Summer."

Summer just fixed her hair as much as she could with her fingers. This was far from a comfortable situation for her. Dillon arrived back in the room, having showered and changed.

"I'm glad you could join us." Dr. K said a little sarcastically, though with a knowing smile and wink in Summer's direction. "Dillon, there is something about your memories..."

"It's alright, I know they were fake." He interrupted her.

"Not all of them." Dr. K corrected him, pulling up the footage of Kenmore Square to show them. "This is all Venjix fabricated. To make your memories seem more realistic, this image was made, but together with a code that was designed to bring forth a memory of feelings of contentment and happiness."

"I'm not there." Dillon commented. "Neither is the blind girl."

"That's because they were from your true memories." Dr. K explained. "She exists."

"Existed." Dillon sighed in response. Dr. K shook her head.

"She's still alive Dillon, she is your sister." Dr. K answered as she used a remote control to open the door to Tenaya's cell. She came out, looking around curiously.

"Why are you letting me out?" She asked. Dr. K didn't need to answer though. The look in Dillon's eyes as he saw Tenaya's face unshielded for the first time said everything that needed to be said. He approached her slowly, placing a hand on her cheek and running it up and down her face gently.

"Tenaya and yourself share a genetic heritage." Dr. K stated. "Whoever you both are, you are related and share the same parents. She is your sister."

Ziggy left the room quickly, making his way outside. Flynn followed, thinking something was wrong and finding Ziggy holding his hands over his face.

"Ziggy, its fine. This doesn't change anything." Flynn assured him. "Sure, we had her as our prisoner but..."

"That's just it Flynn, everything's changed!" Ziggy snapped. "Dillon and Tenaya are brother and sister."

"That shouldn't matter." Flynn replied. "She's still..."

"That's just it, it DOES matter!" Ziggy interrupted him sharply. "When I was held by those things, all I could think about was her, that I'd never see her again. That I'd never get to tell her how I feel."

"You love her don't you?" Flynn gasped as he realised where this was going. Ziggy nodded as his first tears started to sting his eyes.

"I love her Flynn." He replied. "I have since a little after she came to us. I told her last night."

"Ziggy..."

"When has Dillon ever been the most reasonable of people?" Ziggy asked him passionately. "How am I meant to tell him I've been putting the moves on his sister while she was our prisoner?"


	7. Bonding

Dillon and Tenaya had gone back into her cell for some privacy following the revelation of the connection between them. Before then, he knew that they were connected by what Venjix had done to them. Now though he knew that there was more to it than that.

They sat in silence for a long time, unable to think of how to begin their conversation. They both had a million questions for each other.

"I can't believe we're related." Dillon finally whispered as he managed to find something to say. "My head's been so foggy and muddled...I didn't know what my memories meant or if they were real."

"I can't remember anything either." She mumbled. "I don't remember anything before Venjix pulled me out of that pod. Occasionally I'd think I smelled something or heard something, but I never knew what any of it meant."

Dillon pulled out his pocket watch, opening it and letting the music begin to play. Tenaya smiled as she heard it.

"I don't know exactly what it means to me, but I remember this song." She told him. She closed her eyes and reached out for the watch. Dillon considered this for a second, fearful of handing over the one connection to his past that he knew brought images to him. He finally relented, placing it in her hand. Tenaya turned it over in her hand, again and again, smiling as she felt the surface. "This watch, I remember it for some reason."

"I had it with me when I woke up in the wasteland." Dillon informed her. "I knew it meant a lot to me, I just never knew why. I saw your face when I heard the music playing."

"I feel...happy when I hear it." She replied quietly, searching her brain for any further memories. "It belongs to someone I trust...with my life...with my safety. It's important to me."

Her eyes opened as she closed the watch, handing it back to him. "I think I gave you this watch."

"I can't believe I finally have you back." Dillon sighed, thinking about it. "This is insane, you're my sister and yet...I remember hardly anything about you."

"It's alright, I know this is hard for you. It's hard for me too." She told him, reaching over for him and taking his hand. Dillon smiled as he got another flashback. He reached up, gently taking her by the elbow.

"So where do we go from here?" She asked him. "It feels weird to think of you as my brother. I have feelings I can't explain or understand."

She slumped backwards into her seat, looking up to the ceiling as she tried to make sense of everything she had heard. "How are we meant to act around each other?"

"I guess we can only take it one step at a time." He suggested. "I guess maybe we should try being friends before we can try being siblings. Summer swears by her therapist, maybe he can help us."

"So what do we call each other?" She asked him.

"I think Tenaya would be a good start for me." He offered her. "I don't know if you'll appreciate baby sister just yet, and in the absence of your real name..."

"That sounds good to me." She replied with a slight laugh. "I suppose you don't want me to keep calling you Ranger Black."

"Dillon." He told her. "You can call me Dillon."

Late that night, Summer came into the main room to find Gemma and Dr. K talking at length, catching up on the time that had passed since she believed them to have perished. She came over, finding them sitting in their pyjamas. Dr. K was wearing her puppy dog slippers. She couldn't help laughing as she saw this bizarre scene. She would never have thought of Dr. K being involved in a slumber party, but that was exactly how it looked. Because of her intelligence and the fact she could still be a little distant, she often forgot that she was still so young. In Gemma's presence, she seemed so different.

"Is something amusing to you Summer?" Dr. K asked her. Gemma looked up at her with her usual huge, toothy grin. It seemed that even without her brother's presence she was just as irrepressibly cheerful.

"I just think it's really great to see you like this." She replied, sitting on the couch with them. "I've never seen you so cheerful."

"I suppose I've never really been that close to you." She replied honestly. "Gemma's my oldest female friend, while here all I had in the way of female company was Tenaya, who is technically our prisoner, Sam, who doesn't live with us, and yourself who as the sole other female on the team has been essentially as much a competitor for me as a companion."

"Competitor?" Summer asked her curiously.

"With any colony there is always an underlying biological predisposition for the females to sabotage and undermine each other for the sole attention of the males in the group in order to attract the most desirable mate." She replied with her usual tact. "For what it's worth, it is nothing personal."

"No offence taken." Summer replied. "How are you settling in here Gemma?"

"Now that I've actually been able to get into the bedroom I'm settling in. I'm sure we're going to be super close!" She said in a bouncy tone. Summer turned a little pink as she said this. She hadn't been thinking much the night before hand. She didn't mean to lock Gemma out of the room for the whole night, but all things considered, it was understandable that she had wanted some privacy. She and Dillon had just gotten a little caught up in the moment and had ended up falling asleep.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." She said nervously. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"I understand." She chirped as she reached for a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"I know you have been involved in a relationship with Dillon for some time." Dr. K said with a slightly devilish grin on her face. "I suppose it was inevitable."

"So?" Gemma asked her. "Give us the details!"

Summer was a little unsure about this. She and Dr. K weren't especially close as she had mentioned herself, and she had only just met Gemma a short time ago. She looked around the room.

"I'm not really sure." She told her. "Where are the guys?"

"Dillon, Flynn, Scott and Ziggy took Gem to the bar for some team bonding." Dr. K told her. "No doubt they're taking part in some kind of irresponsible and competitive male bonding ritual involving loud music and more alcohol than is advisable. Tenaya is in her cell."

"You know, now that we know who she is, maybe we should give her a little more slack." Gemma suggested. "I doubt she'll want to harm any of you now that she's found her brother."

"She hasn't made any moves." Summer reminded Dr. K. "She basically stopped being our prisoner a while ago. Maybe it's time we gave her a more comfortable room."

"I suppose it does seem a little redundant given Ziggy's habit of leaving the door unlocked." Dr. K replied with a shrug. "I'll invite her to join us."

"Anyway, you still haven't told us about last night." Gemma pointed out. Summer looked at them both a little sheepishly.

"You know if we are going to do this, we should really do it right." She told them. "I have some wine in the fridge."

"You are of course aware that the legal age of consumption is 21 and as such I am underage." Dr. K added. "We are also unaware of Tenaya's exact age."

"I won't tell if you don't." Summer replied.

"Come on Dr. K, join us." Gemma encouraged her. "The guys are all bonding, how often do you think we'll really have to spend some time together without the guys interrupting us?"

"I'll get Tenaya." She said as she finally relented to them, finding the thought of spending some time alone with the others quite appealing. "You get the wine."

In the bar, Scott and Ziggy were giving Gem an education in how to play pool. He had said he had never played before, and given the fact he had spent most of his life between Alphabet Soup and fighting Venjix in the wastes, they could believe that.

"Boom!" He called out excitedly as he sank another ball, gesturing wildly. Scott just groaned and shook his head as the other customers looked around at him like he was mad.

"Uh...Gem, would you keep it down a little?" He asked him quietly. "What have I told you about sound effects?"

"Sorry." He replied. They had hoped that separating the twins would maybe curb their enthusiasm a little, though so far that hadn't worked. Flynn and Dillon just sat in the corner quietly drinking.

"I think they might have been in the sun a little too long." Flynn commented. "Either that or they found a Prozac factory and went to town."

"I have to admit they are unique." Dillon replied, though it was obvious that his thoughts were on anything other than the new Gold Ranger. Flynn couldn't really blame him, it had been a life-changing couple of days.

"It's been a busy couple of days for you, hasn't it pal?" He asked the Black Ranger. "You've found out a lot about yourself."

"It has been pretty hectic." Dillon agreed. "I really wish I didn't have to see those things in Omega City though. That was definitely not fun."

"I guess finding out you were almost a flesh-eating zombie wouldn't feel good." Flynn said sympathetically. "I guess you had to see that. At least you have a better idea of what Venjix did to you."

"It's just a shame it took it 43 attempts to get it right." Dillon replied sarcastically as he sank his beer. "I know we didn't have a choice but to destroy them, but I kind of feel guilty...you know...like maybe if it wasn't for me..."

"You know you shouldn't feel bad about surviving." Flynn responded. "I'm pretty sure Tenaya's glad you made it. Not to mention Summer."

Dillon got a little smirk on his face hearing this. It was a little clumsy, but that was just the way Flynn was. He knew the others would want to talk to him about what happened between him and Summer, and also the new information they had found out about Tenaya.

"I still don't know how to feel about what happened." Dillon sighed. "After the download I still don't know how much of my memory I can rely on. I was beginning to doubt everything I thought I knew. Now I find out that I have a little sister."

"She's not so little now." Flynn commented. "You know she's able to look after herself now."

"I just don't really know how I'm meant to act...what I'm meant to do." He replied. "I mean...neither of us remembers the other. The only thing between us is DNA...the blood in our veins might be the same but how exactly are we able to act?"

"Well it was only me and dad, so I really couldn't tell you." Flynn said with a shrug. "I've never had any brothers or sisters."

"It still feels a little weird to think of her that way." Dillon stated. "I can't believe she's been so close for so long and I never figured it out."

"Well you do have a lot of other things on your mind." Flynn reminded him. "Like a certain cute little blonde lass."

"Flynn, don't start with me." Dillon warned him, gesturing to Ziggy to get another round of beers between shots. "I didn't do anything wrong..."

"Dillon, you know I was worried about her in the beginning, but I've seen how you've taken care of her." He responded. "I'd have understood if you had decided it wasn't worth it. It can't have been easy having to watch her going through all of that..."

"Actually it was." Dillon said with a smile. "I never once thought about it that way. She gave me so much more than I could ever have imagined, even when she was struggling. I was there for every one of her breakthroughs. I wouldn't have cared if we never...you know...just the fact that she had that much faith in me was all that mattered."

"Well the first time's always special." Flynn told him sagely as Ziggy arrived with more beers. The two just stayed quiet briefly while he looked between them both nervously. Flynn could guess that he was worried about him telling Dillon that he knew what had happened between him and Tenaya.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked them.

"Lightningball." Flynn lied expertly.

"It's the big charity game in a few days." Dillon reminded him. "We were just wondering if Chas and Hicks will have recovered in time for the game."

"They were both pretty messed up after the raid." Ziggy whispered as he turned and left the table. "If you'll excuse me, I think Gem's getting a little over-excited again. I need to save him before Scott loses his patience."

Flynn turned back to Dillon and nodded in understanding. He knew Dillon was grateful that he respected his privacy.

"So...how do you feel now that it happened?" Flynn asked him.

"It sounds clichéd, but if anything...I love her more." Dillon replied. "I can't imagine wanting to be with anyone else."

"I kind of felt that way about Sam." Flynn assured him. "I'm already sure she's the one."

"The one?" Dillon said with a smile, thinking about Summer. "I like the sound of that...yeah...she's the one."

Back at the Garage, Gemma laughed as Summer finished explaining how she felt about what had happened between herself and Dillon. Out of respect for how awkward it would be for Tenaya given the fact she had just learned that Dillon was her brother, she had spared them the gory details of the act, and had instead just told them about how she felt.

"There were times I would never have thought I could go that far, but it just felt...right." She concluded.

"Well it has been pretty obvious that your relationship with Dillon..."

"Could you please not finish that statement?" Tenaya begged Dr. K. "I mean...it's messing with my head enough knowing he's my brother without imagining...well...just...ew!"

Gemma giggled as she gulped some wine. "It must have been hard living in the same building as all those guys for all that time."

"It had its moments." Summer agreed.

"I will admit to having had a few such thoughts myself." Dr. K admitted drunkenly. Given her young age and her small stature, it was becoming clear that the wine was starting to go to her head. The others just looked at her in slight bemusement. "Why are you all so surprised? I'm smart, but I'm still human. I do experience human passions."

"Well it's just odd to think of you thinking about things like that." Summer remarked. "I do remember having that talk about the number 10, but if I remember rightly...you didn't answer me."

"I did not." Dr. K said in a slightly tipsy laugh. "Although a part of that is down to my earlier admission to seeing you as competition. I will admit to being a little territorial."

"So you watched the guys for all of that time?" Summer asked her.

"Do you really think it was necessary for all of you to strip to your underwear for the original testing and medical examinations?" Dr. K asked her. "I still have those recordings...I sometimes enjoyed watching them."

Summer and the others all laughed as she admitted this, knowing that she would never have admitted this had she been sober.

"What? The males are attractive." She stated again more forcefully as the fact the others were laughing at her annoyed her a little. "Has it never occurred to you that only the Series Yellow suit was created with a skirt?"

"I always kind of thought you intended the Series Yellow operator to be a girl." Summer replied.

"Actually I only knew once you passed your test." Dr. K told her. "I added the skirt because I have no desire to see the shape of your posterior. No offence Summer."

"None taken." She replied, taking another sip. "So you still didn't tell me which of the guys scored 10 on the cuteness scale for you."

"I have to admit never having such thoughts about Ziggy...he was always a little...scrawny for my tastes." She began. None of the others noticed Tenaya's reaction. She hated to hear anyone speak about Ziggy that way.

"Flynn is...cute...in a cuddly kind of way...I can understand why Sam likes him." Dr. K continued. "Dillon, while irritating in his defiant manner is admittedly a desirable partner in a purely physical sense..."

"Scott!" The three others all called out at once.

"I thought as much." Summer chuckled as she poured them all another glass. "He is kind of attractive."

"He is a cute." Gemma agreed. "He isn't spoken for either. I may just have to try getting to know him a little better."

Summer definitely noticed a less-than-enthusiastic look on Dr. K's face as her friend said this. She could now believe what Dr. K said about being territorial.

The girls continued to laugh and joke as the guys arrived back from their time at the bar. Gem rejoined his sister as she finished her glass.

"I see you all had much the same idea as us." Scott remarked, noticing the scene before him. "Mind if we join you?"

"Of course we don't mind." Summer told them as Dillon took his place on the couch next to her. "It will really help if we all get used to each other."

Ziggy was careful to take a seat on the opposite side of the group to where Tenaya was sitting. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that he wouldn't want to sit with her, but she could understand in a way. It wasn't as though the others were likely to understand how these feelings between them had developed, and seeing the way he kept looking over to Dillon, she knew that there was at least one more complication in the way.

The following morning, Chas was busy dressing the wound in his leg when his fiancée came into the room.

"How are you feeling today?" She asked him, handing him his trousers. They were still getting used to their somewhat more Spartan living accommodations since his father had cut him off. Chas pulled them on, smiling as he saw her.

"I never thought I'd be facing the press again." He commented, kissing Brie gently. "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

"You know I'll stick by you." Brie replied as she picked out a shirt for him. "I think this one suits you."

"If it wasn't for that, I'd never have agreed to stand." He told her flatly, pulling on the shirt and beginning to button it up. "It'll take the two of us to get through this. Dad's not going to be happy when he finds out he isn't running unopposed."

"He might not play fair, but you're by far the better of the Winchester men." She assured him. "He would never have done what you did for this city."

"It's going to be hard to compete with his cheque book." He replied. "I know I have that trust fund my Aunt left me, but that's still going to be nowhere near the kind of money he'll throw at this."

He heard a knock on the door, and made his way to answer it, putting on his tie as he went. He opened the door to find his father standing in the doorway. His mood noticeably darkened as he saw him.

"I got an interesting phone call today." He greeted his son. "A journalist asked me if I had any comment about your announcement that you'd be standing against me."

"I haven't actually made that announcement yet." Chas corrected him. "I'm just getting ready for my press conference now actually."

"If I were you I'd get such silly thoughts out of your head." He replied in a condescending sneer. "No one's going to back you."

"Colonel Truman's already agreed to help me with my campaign." Chas informed him. "He thought I'd do a good job."

"You haven't achieved anything in your whole life." Mr. Winchester laughed. "What do you know about politics?"

"I learned a lot watching you." Chas told him. "You only want the power. I want what's best for Corinth and my family."

"What family?" Mr. Winchester asked him. "You and that..."

"Don't you dare say anything about Brie!" Chas warned him angrily. "She's supported me since the battle. You disowned me because I told the truth about Summer. She's more my family than you."

"You know better than to think I'll let you beat me!" Mr. Winchester spat angrily. "This is your last chance to back out before things get...uncomfortable."

"Goodbye dad." Chas said coldly. "I'll see you on the campaign trail."

With that, he slammed the door closed, breathing a sigh as he considered the wisdom of his actions. He turned around, finding Brie standing there.

"I'm sorry, I really wish you hadn't heard that." He told her. "It's me he's angry with, it shouldn't affect you."

"It will affect me Chas, we're in this together." She told him. "You know he's going to say anything to get his way. It would be naive to think he won't try to smear me. I don't care what he says about me, I love you."

"You've been great about all of this." He complimented her. "I know this has been a big change."

"I can't say it didn't hurt that a lot of my friends have stopped calling." She remarked, beginning to prepare some toast for him. "But if they couldn't support us just because the money isn't there anymore, then they were never really our friends."

She bit her bottom lip gently as she considered what she was about to say next. She knew she had to tell him, and right now he could do with the good news.

"As long as you're here, I know everything will be fine." She told him. "The three of us will be fine."

"Can I have that in writing?" He asked her. "I mean...wait...did you say the three of us?"

Brie just nodded in response, before coming to his side. Chas swept her up in his arms and smiled broadly, holding her tightly.

"I'm going to be a dad!" He yelled happily. "I'm going to be a dad!"


	8. Breathing Space

A/N: The next chapters will take place largely during "In or Out" and "Prisoners". As usual, where the script overlaps with the show, Disney owns the rights.

Chas arrived at the Central Plaza with his fiancée, making his way onto the podium. The crowd had assembled for the press conference, expecting to hear Chas making an announcement about the charity Lightningball game he was going to be a part of.

He looked over to Brie, still grinning broadly after the news she had given him. He was over the moon to know that he was going to be a father. Now more than ever, he believed in his conviction that his father should not win the race. He didn't want to consider what Corinth would be like for his child if his father had his way.

"I'd just like to keep this brief because I still have some treatment to undergo before the match." Chas said into a microphone. "I..."

"Hugh Tracker, Dome Secrets magazine." A reporter interrupted him as he shoved his way to the front. Chas didn't mind his rude behaviour; he kind of expected it from that publication. It was the kind of tabloid that reported scandal and sensationalised stories with little, if any care for those the stories hurt, or even if they were true. "Is it true that your team for the charity game is incomplete because of injuries to yourself and Corporal Hicks?"

"I can confirm that I'm not certain if I'll be medically cleared in time for Saturday's match, and to his great disappointment, Corporal Hicks has already been told he will not be ready in time, however we will be trying to find a suitable substitute in time. If I have my way, the game will go ahead as planned. However that is not..."

"Julia Reeves, Evening News. This game is expected to raise a considerable amount of money for several deserving charities. Many will be relying on the game going ahead." Another reporter from a considerably more reputable publication stated. "If it doesn't go ahead..."

"The game will go ahead; both I and Robert Taylor are determined to ensure it goes ahead." Chas replied. "The Racetrack Rockets are ready, and my own Warriors are doing everything we can to replace Corporal Hicks in time. You all have my word that the game will go ahead. However, this is not the reason I have called you here today. I have called you here to announce that after careful consideration, I have decided that I will run for the office of Mayor."

There were a few murmurs from the crowd as he said this. There had been rumours before that he had political aspirations, but he also had more than a little bit of a reputation as a playboy from his years wasting his father's money.

"It has been reported that you recently left your father's house and are currently residing on the military barracks." Hugh called out. "Is your running for Mayor merely a way of getting back at your father for throwing you out?"

"I would really rather not discuss my family, please try to keep all questions related to the campaign." Chas replied. "I respect my father's ambition; however my reasons for opposing him are not personal. I just believe that I can do a better job."

"Come on, are you honestly trying to tell us you aren't dragging your own daddy issues into the political race?" Hugh asked him.

"If there are no further questions, then I have a lot to attend to." Chas replied as several other reporters immediately began yelling out questions. The soldiers assigned to crowd control guided him off the stage and into the barracks, where Colonel Truman was waiting. Brie hugged him sympathetically.

"This was a disaster." Chas sighed. "Hugh made me look like an idiot. At this rate my dad will eat me alive."

"It'll be fine, you're a good person." Brie assured him.

"It's not like that ever mattered in politics." Chas grumbled.

"You just need a little more practice dealing with the questions." Colonel Truman said with a smile. "The press is a harsh mistress."

"I really need someone that knows what they're doing." He commented. "I have ideas; I just don't know how to get them across without them making me sound like an idiot."

"I'll help you wherever I can." He replied. Just then, an explosion was heard.

"That came from the oxygen recycling plant!" Colonel Truman yelled. "I have to get out there!"

As he left, Chas just slumped against a wall, hoping for some inspiration. He heard a sarcastic, slow clapping and turned, seeing his father approaching.

"Well you're off to an amazing start." He told him sarcastically. "You still have time to just give up."

"Just get out of here dad." He snapped.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." He responded. "Just remember that when you watch me walk into office."

Colonel Truman went back to the Garage with the Rangers after the attack at the plant. Crunch and Shifter had done a considerable amount of damage, leaving them with a serious problem.

"It'll be at least 30 days before the oxygen recycling plant is up and running again." Colonel Truman told them. "Until then we only have the air inside the dome to breathe."

"This circumstance was considered in the design of the dome." Corporal Hicks added as he put a folder in front of them with his one uninjured arm, wincing a little in pain as he did so. "There is enough air in the dome to last for 90..."

"97 days 4 hours 43 minutes and 17 seconds." Dr. K corrected him. "Presuming the population doesn't expand within that time."

"The point is we have enough air inside the dome to last until the plant is repaired, though we cannot risk it being targeted again." Colonel Truman stated. "It is for that reason; we have taken the decision to divert all the city's surplus power to overcharge the shields." He explained. "During that time, we will be unable to lower the shields for any reason for 48..."

"43 hours 16 minutes and 12 seconds." Dr. K corrected him quickly. The others all looked at her. "What? I like to be exact."

"Well it's not like we have much reason to want to go out." Flynn replied with a shrug. None of them noticed Tenaya in the background, shifting in her seat. Venjix was not into senseless destruction, everything it did had a purpose. She knew that Dr. K was smart, but Venjix had supercomputers and high speed processors at its disposal. If she could figure out there was enough air in the dome to last until the plant was repaired, the Venjix had to know. It would make the attack on the plant pointless; they were bound to increase their defences while it was repaired. Why would Venjix want that?"

"How are we going to win...?"

"...if we keep hiding in here?" Gem and Gemma chimed in as cheerfully as usual. Colonel Truman just looked at them questioningly.

"If we're going to destroy Venjix for good..."

"...we have to get out there..."

"...and start blasting..."

"...boom..."

"...Zap..."

Dillon clamped a hand down on Gem's shoulder, while Scott reached around, clamping a hand over Gemma's mouth to shut them up. Dr. K felt a little jealousy creeping in as she saw Scott's arms around her, holding her, but got a slight smirk on her face as she realised that he was, only doing it because she annoyed him. Although she was her friend, she couldn't help seeing Gemma as competition, especially since she had already openly said that she thought Scott was attractive.

"We are fortifying the defences to maintain the safety of the dome." Colonel Truman said in an irritated tone, his grip on the folder in his hand tightening so much it started to distort and change shape. "When we overcharge the shields you won't be able to get back in."

"Meh..." Gem responded in a shrug.

"We stay in the dome and defend the city. That's the plan." He replied, sharply. Gemma finally broke free of Scott's grip and pulled up a close up scan of an area of the map.

"Well here's our plan..."

"...there's an outpost a couple of miles outside the city..."

"...we're gonna blow it up..."

"...explosions are cool..."

"...Boom...!"

"How many times do we have to ask you to stop that?" Scott interrupted the twins.

"We're outta here..."

"...see ya!" Gemma concluded. With that, they both ran out of the compound.

"I'm glad to see the rest of you have more sense." Colonel Truman commented. "We're going to overcharge the shields. You be ready for anything. The last thing we need is a panic."

Colonel Truman and Hicks left, leaving them to their duties.

"I'll be over at the orphanage." Ziggy informed them. "Tenaya, would you like to come with me?"

"Um...not right now...I feel a little unwell." She lied, hoping to get a chance to check the computers to check out her suspicions that Venjix had some ulterior motive.

"Are you alright?" Ziggy asked her with a look of concern on his face.

"Would you like me to run some tests?" Dr. K asked her. Tenaya shook her head.

"I think I must have eaten something which disagreed with me." She replied. "I'll just rest up a little and I'll be fine."

"Well there isn't much to do around here, so how about we catch that movie you wanted to see?" Dillon asked Summer. She put her arm around him and walked off with him, leaving Dr. K and Scott with Tenaya.

"I'm getting out of here for a while." Scott told them. "Maybe I can catch up to Gem and Gemma and stop them before they go."

"I'll be in the lab if anyone needs me." Dr. K told him. "We may as well enjoy the quiet period while the shields are overcharged."

As soon as she was alone, Tenaya made her way over to the computer and hacked into it quickly, checking the schematics of the city.

"Why would Venjix want the humans to increase the defences to the city?" She asked herself. "It can't get anything..."

Suddenly, her enhanced vision caught a barely visible line on the map, running out in the direction of the compound that Gem and Gemma had gone to destroy.

"That's on the geological survey map." She whispered as she pulled up the appropriate file. "It's an underwater spring, but there's something artificial in there...a pipeline, but that's way too small for Venjix to get anything into the city."

She then thought about the other end, taking a closer look at the energy readings from the other end. Having spent so long as Venjix's servant, she was familiar with the energy readings of its most powerful warriors. She recognised the warrior.

"Vacuum bot." She gasped. "That's it. Venjix isn't putting something into the city, it's taking something out! It's going to remove the air!"

She thought about this for a minute, realising she had no way to communicate with the others...with Ziggy. She had no way to warn them, in a few short minutes, they would all be trapped inside the dome.

Thinking of Ziggy, she decided she couldn't take the chance that Gem and Gemma would escape the city and destroy the Vacuum bot before the air was gone. She had a much keener knowledge of all the ways into and out of the city. She grabbed the Sonic Blaster, and used it to blow the door open, causing an alarm to sound. Dr. K just arrived in time to watch her throwing it aside and sprinting out of the Garage as fast as she could, far too quickly for her to follow.

"Where are you going?" She called out. "Tenaya!"

Turning back to the computer, she saw what Tenaya had been looking at. It was then that another warning came. She had set the computer to monitor air levels in the city. To her horror she realised saw that the level had dropped by several hours, and the plant had only been out of commission for a little under an hour.

"Rangers, this is Dr. K!" She screamed into her communicator. "The air is being sucked out of the dome from the complex Gem and Gemma have gone to destroy! You must assist them!"

Tenaya had managed to escape the city before the shields were overcharged, and was now running through the desert, heading in the direction of the complex.

Tears burned her eyes as she thought about all of the humans who had taken her in and treated her with kindness. So many people, most of what remained of the human race lived within that city. If Venjix's plan succeeded, she knew that none of them would survive.

As she drove onwards, she saw something odd. A couple of humans came over a ridge, gesturing to her. They were carrying a mishmash of weapons of varying technological levels. As they came closer, she used her enhanced vision to get a better look. The others had told her about the Dregs, and she could ill afford the time to take on any survivors. She realised quickly that they were not Dregs, but true humans. They were carrying guns ranging from a couple of blasters, a few old pistols and shotguns, obviously whatever could be scavenged from the ruins of cities.

"Get into cover!" One of them called to her. "Come with us!"

She knew that Venjix had factories out in the wastes where humans were held captive and forced to work as slaves building Grinders, patrol vehicles and other things it considered beneath its efforts. Obviously these were escapees, survivors that had scavenged what weapons they could to form a resistance movement in the hopes of finding Corinth. One of them grabbed her arm, pulling her along. "Are you trying to get caught? There are patrols all over this area!"

"Leave her!" Another called as he came into view, levelling a blaster at her. He was tall, and heavily muscular. He was wearing combat fatigues and boots, and a dusty leather jacket. She couldn't see his face, as it was covered by a helmet, including a visor and gas mask. "I recognise her, I'd know her anywhere. She's Venjix's pet cyborg!"

"I really don't have time for this!" She implored him. "I'm not going to hurt you, just let me be on my way..."

"So you can tell Venjix you've found us?" He asked her. "Not likely!"

He fired a blast at her which she managed to dodge. As one of the others levelled an assault rifle at her, she had no choice but to snatch it from him and throw him aside.

"Leave her! You won't stand a chance!" The masked man ordered them.

"None of you do!" She yelled at him. "If you know who I am, then you know what I'm capable of. I need to get going. I don't want to harm you..."

"That's just your problem then, isn't it?" He asked her. He leapt to the attack, scoring a hard kick to her face, sending her to the ground. She found herself rattled by the attack. It was powerful, so much more powerful than a human should be capable of delivering. He scored another kick, winding her and leaving her unable to fight.

"What the hell are you?" She wheezed. "You've been upgraded."

"My designation was D46." He informed her. "Of course, unlike you I escaped before I was turned into his little puppet.

He kicked her in the head once more, knocking her completely unconscious. The others crowded around her, levelling weapons her way.

"No!" He ordered them. "We need to find out what she knows. If the camp is compromised, then we need to know! Bring her!"

"Yes sir." One of them called out, as he and one of the others grabbed her, and began dragging her away. "Everyone get back to the camp. We've been exposed here for too long."

Later in the day, the Rangers returned to the Garage through the gate, narrowly avoiding being incinerated by venting propane as they went.

"You all saved us!" Colonel Truman greeted them. "I can't believe we were almost suckered in like that."

"We've since found the pipeline and shut it down to prevent Venjix trying again." Hicks assured them. "It's now secure."

"We still have more than enough air to last until the plant re opens." Dr. K told them happily.

"Where's Tenaya?" Ziggy asked her. She had relayed the information that she had gone to try and destroy the compound herself. When they arrived, there had been no sign of her. They had gone through with the mission, saving the city, but she was nowhere to be found. Dr. K looked to Dillon sadly. She could see from the look on his face that he too wanted to know where his sister was.

"I am afraid she has not returned." She told them. "She is still out there."

"I'm going back out there." Dillon announced bluntly. "We have to find her..."

"Dillon, we have no idea where to start looking." Summer told him. "Tenaya's tough, you know she is. If anyone's going to make it, then she will."

Flynn was concerned for Dillon, putting a hand on his shoulder, but he also looked across to see Ziggy, taking a seat and holding his head in his hands so that the others would not see his tears. So far he was the only one who knew how he felt about her, and he knew he had to be going out of his mind with worry. The difference was, he was going through it alone.

Tenaya came to, groaning with the pain of her beating earlier. D46 had taken her completely by surprise. She hadn't expected any of the freedom fighters to be a match for her. Of course, she didn't know that he too was the victim of Venjix's cruel experiments.

She was being held in a rocky cave, though it was clear her captor was taking no chances. Her wrists were crossed, and secured above her head by a length of strong chain, binding them to a pillar she was rested against and padlocked allowing virtually no movement. Because of Dr. K's restraining bracelet, she couldn't remove her hand, or escaping would have been a simple matter. Her ankles were also bound together with chains.

She saw D46 entering the cave, observing her thoughtfully. He came over to her, carrying a length of steel pipe.

"You're here for the camp, aren't you D45?" He asked her.

"What camp?" She asked him. He kicked her in the stomach painfully.

"Don't lie to me! You know where we are don't you?" He snarled. "Venjix knows where the resistance is in hiding."

"You have to believe me; until I met you I didn't even know there was a resistance!" She responded in laboured gasps. "I came to destroy a Venjix outpost..."

"Liar!" He screamed, punching her hard in the face. "I remember watching them take you to serve your master..."

"I was treated with nothing but cruelty!" She snapped back. "I was tortured day and night! I want to see it destroyed..."

This time it was the pipe which was swung aggressively into her ribcage.

"These people here depend on me to keep them safe. I am the only hope any of them have of survival!" He told her. "Those I've freed fight to free those they can."

"The Rangers will help you!" She told him. "I came from Corinth. I live with them now. I..."

"No one knows where Corinth is." He told her as he slapped her aggressively. "Now tell me if you know where the camp is! Has Venjix...?"

"Venjix doesn't know anything about your location." She interrupted him. "I told you, I didn't even know you existed..."

He slapped her again, cutting her off. She just glared at him.

"Please, just tell me if the outpost was destroyed." She begged him. "If it wasn't, everyone in Corinth is going to die!"

"We saw an explosion." He told her. "I guess that's you happy then. Of course all that could just be a diversion."

"You know if you aren't going to believe me, what's the point in asking the questions?" She asked him sarcastically. D46 elbowed her in the face hard, before getting up and turning to leave.

"I just need to be sure." He told her. "I'm going to bring some more...refined tools. I will get to the truth eventually."

He went outside the cave, walking past two guards standing there with rifles.

"You, go and check with the perimeter sentries. If we have to get out of here I want to know about it." He barked at one of them, at which he ran off. "You, make sure no one goes in that cave. I don't want anyone other than me going in there. She's too dangerous."

He looked around at the makeshift shelters and tents all carefully nestled and camouflaged into the cliff face to prevent them being found, and knew how many lives depended on him. Men, women and children all lived in these cliffs from day to day, uncertain of how long they would survive. It was a bleak existence, but it was all they could hope for. They had no way of finding Corinth, and even if they did, there were scores of people here. They had no vehicles capable of carrying them to the city. A soldier rushed over to him, offering him a water canteen, which he refused politely.

"Sir, do you think it's possible she's telling the truth?" He asked the leader of this colony.

"My brothers and sisters can't be trusted, that's why I destroyed all the ones that weren't zombies." He told him. "I need to be certain. There are too many lives at stake."

"What if she is telling the truth?" The soldier asked him.

"Like I said, my brothers and sisters can't be trusted." He replied. "I'll put her out of her misery like I did to the others."


	9. D46

Ziggy was at the orphanage, helping Ms. Foster with some redecorating. It had now been a full day since the mission out of the dome. So far the shields were still overcharged, and now the propane build up caused by them stopping it not once, but twice, meant that gate 19 was no longer an option, burning constantly. Despite wanting to go and look for her, he was trapped in here with the others meaning that, presuming she was still alive, Tenaya was on her own.

He had come over to the orphanage to take his mind off things since he knew that leaving the city was currently impossible, so as much as he wanted to help her, all he was doing by hanging around the Garage was thinking about her and driving himself insane. The others had asked him what was wrong, all except for Dillon and Flynn. Dillon was worried about her naturally, despite the whole situation still being awkward between them, she was his only family. Flynn didn't need to ask, he already knew that he was in love with her. He had been supportive, and offered comfort, but there wasn't much he could do without revealing his feelings to Dillon. He appreciated it, but right now all he needed was to know she was alright and to know she was safe.

The screwdriver he was using to tighten up the screws on the kitchen unit slipped, grazing his hand, causing him to bite his lip. Even at his age, he still loved and respected Ms. Foster too much to break the rules she insisted on and swear in 'her house'. If nothing else, just like her he didn't want the kids picking up any of his bad habits. He went to the sink and ran the tap, running it under water to clean the cut. Ms. Foster came in, finding him tending to it.

"Ziggy, are you alright?" She asked him. He just nodded without saying a word. He had barely said anything since he had arrived, just going straight to work. She was worried about him, but then she always had been. It didn't matter how old he got. Any time she looked at him, she still saw the little boy she had raised since infancy.

"Ziggy please let me have a look at it." She begged him sympathetically. He offered her his hand, allowing her to inspect it. "This doesn't look like anything more than a little scratch, it'll be alright."

She paced the room as he went back to work, looking down at him.

"You know I notice that Tenaya isn't here." She told him. "The kids were asking after her, I think they really like her."

Ziggy didn't answer her, or even look at her as she said this. He was too lost in thought, imagining what could have happened to her, or what he would do if he had lost her after only recently being able to admit how much she meant to him.

"In my experience the kids are a pretty good judge of character." She told him. "I kind of like her too."

"She's missing." He told her. "I have no idea where she is."

"Ziggy, I'm so sorry to hear that." She whispered. "I know you had feelings for her. I could see it in you from the moment I saw you together."

"I just wish I knew what happened to her." He told her, feeling a couple of tears beginning. "Not knowing is driving me crazy."

"Ziggy, I didn't only see what you felt for her." She told him. "I could see that the feeling was mutual. That was why I was so pushy about trying to get you together."

"I really love her mom." Ziggy told her, wiping his eyes. "I want her back!"

"I know you do." She murmured, holding her 'son' closely. "It's natural to feel that way, but it's just like you to try and go through these things alone."

She released him slightly as the door opened, and Chas knocked gently. Ms. Foster almost cursed him for that. Ziggy was in no condition to see anyone.

"I wanted to talk to Ziggy." He told her.

"its fine Helen, I'll talk to him." He told her. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you read this morning's newspaper?" He asked him. Ziggy shook his head. It was hard for him to care about anything right now, much less the newspapers. Chas put it down, pointing to the front page.

"Charity match in doubt?" Ziggy asked him. "Chas fails on first promise?"

"Ziggy, my dad's starting the games early." He told him. "He's trying to make this charity match fail so that it'll look like I can't deliver on my promises. Ziggy...he doesn't care about the charities that are relying on this match."

"What do I have to do with this?" He asked him. Chas smiled a little.

"Dad's already been paying off members of the professional league to give the match a miss." Chas told him. "The Rockets are last year's champions. That's why I booked against them. If I didn't have a contract, I know they'd pull out too."

"It says here you're a player short." Ziggy remarked.

"That's what I wanted to ask you." Chas replied. "I know that the publicity of having a Power Ranger on our team is bound to put ticket sales through the roof."

"Dillon would be better." Ziggy commented. "Or Scott..."

"Everyone would say the game wasn't fair if Dillon played, hell someone would probably die!" He replied. "Ziggy...I wanted to make you an offer. We're hoping for a huge gate. I'm willing to put some of it to this place. How about 2 percent?"

"Five!" Ziggy snapped. "Five and I'll do it."

"Deal." Chas replied, shaking his hand.

"The table's finished Helen." Ziggy told her. "If you'll excuse me, I should go."

With that he left. Chas smiled as he went, but his expression soon changed as Ms. Foster stood up and slapped him as hard as she could.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She demanded angrily. "You want him to help you advance your political career?"

"I...I only wanted the charity game to go ahead." He told her, shocked by her reaction.

"Ziggy's never even SEEN a game of Lightningball, never mind played in one!" She informed him, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. "He has no idea how brutal it is!"

"It's a friendly match for charity." Chas assured her. Ms. Foster just rolled her eyes at him.

"You do know who manages the Rockets right?" She asked him.

"Robert Taylor." He answered.

"Otherwise known as Fresno Bob!" She yelled at him, by now turning red with the strain of her anger. "Because he's a Ranger he can't go after Ziggy in the street, but he had a major score to settle! On the field it'll be free game! They're not only a professional team; they were the champions last year! Ziggy will be hurt!"

"I didn't know." He gasped. "I'll ask someone else..."

"It's too late for that. Ziggy loves this place; he'd gladly lay down his life for it!" She told him. She got right into his face. "If anything happens to him, I swear I don't give a damn who you are. There isn't a force on earth that'll stop me from ripping you limb from limb!"

Chas just nodded in understanding and left the orphanage without another word. Ziggy didn't advertise his past with the Scorpion Cartel. Having been in the military Chas knew he had been a member, though he didn't know that Fresno Bob actually had something against him. The details of his departure were only known by one or two people. Now he had something else to worry about. As much as he wanted to do the right thing by the charities that were relying on this game and fulfil his political promises, he never wanted to put anyone in danger in the process.

In the cave, Tenaya's screams rang out as D46 tortured her mercilessly. At this point in time, he had resorted to burning her with powerful acid.

"You know, I'm starting to actually believe you don't know where we are." He told her. "I'm actually beginning to believe we're safe."

"I told you that I don't work for Venjix." She murmured in a weak, hoarse voice. As a result of the implants, he did not tire as quickly or easily as a normal human, and so the torture had been going on for close to 16 hours. "I don't want the people in your care to die. If anything I want to help them."

"Help them?" He snorted in response. "How could you possibly help them?"

"I know where Corinth is." She told him. "If you let me go I'll take you there."

"You lie!" He sneered at her in disgust. "If we let you go you'll just lead us to one of the factories to be enslaved again. That or have us destroyed."

"What do I have to do to convince you?" She asked him wearily. "You're one of the D-series units too. You know our pain threshold. You know that you've worked me over..."

"You might just be an exception." He interrupted her. "Perhaps you are a masochist and enjoy it. Maybe you're a masochist and actually enjoy it? Maybe Venjix saw fit to remove your pain centres altogether."

"You're never going to believe me no matter what I say, are you?" She asked him. "You've already made up your mind that you're going to destroy me."

"I saw all of my brothers and sisters being released." He told her factually. "The first 43 were the Dregs. They're mindless, worthless monsters. We simply avoid them; though will destroy them as soon as we do not have Venjix to worry about. 44 to 50 were the 'success' stories."

He held up a couple of blood-stained jackets, showing them to her.

"I've already taken out 47-50." He informed her. "44 disappeared off the grid after he was lost in a transport accident, but that only leaves you and me."

"If I'm going to die anyway, why should I help you?" She asked him.

"Like you said, I know your pain threshold." He replied. "I will destroy you, it just won't be...efficient."

"You know, you claim to be human." She told him. "I know what that means. I know I can't cause this kind of pain."

"You'd be surprised what a human can do." D46 told her. "I'll be back later."

Tenaya just felt what little strength she still had leave her as he walked out. She felt like she had nothing left. She was all but dead; it was only a matter of time before her torturer became her executioner. It was then that her head perked up. She heard something unusual, though something that affected her. A little girl was crying, and she was nearby.

"Who's there?" She asked. "Please, come out so that I can see you."

Sure enough, a little girl, perhaps around 7 years old, poked her head out from behind a rock. She was blonde, with icy blue eyes that were filled with tears.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you." Tenaya assured her, rattling the chains securing her wrists. "Please, come on out."

The little girl took a few nervous steps out of her hiding place, though nowhere near close enough for Tenaya to touch her. She was terrified, and was giving her wary looks.

"The General says you're bad." She told Tenaya. "I shouldn't be talking to you."

"Why did you come in here?" Tenaya asked her.

"Some of the other kids were being mean to me." She replied. "One of them threw my dolly into the wasteland."

"I can understand why you were upset." Tenaya said sympathetically.

"The other kids are always mean to me!" She complained loudly. "They say I'm small and weak and..."

"You found your way in here past an armed guard." Tenaya reminded her. "That isn't weak. That's smart."

"I found a little hole nearby." She told her. "No one else knows about it."

"Why were you crying?" Tenaya asked her. "I didn't hear you earlier."

"The General is good to us, he keeps us safe." The youngster told Tenaya. "I thought he was nice."

"You don't anymore?" Tenaya asked her. The little girl sobbed a little e harder.

"I saw him being nasty to you." She replied. "I never thought he would do things like that. I never thought he would hurt someone that way."

"Come a little closer." Tenaya beckoned her. "Sometimes people do bad things when they think they're doing the right thing."

"How can that be the right thing?" The little girl asked her, walking closer. "I heard you crying. He was hurting you..."

"Yes he was. He was hurting me." Tenaya told her. "He thinks I'm going to be a danger to you and so he's making sure I'm not."

"I'm bad sometimes." The girl told her. "Mommy sometimes spanks me but she never does things like that."

"Do you know what always makes me feel better?" Tenaya asked her. "I always feel better when Ziggy hugs me."

"Ziggy?" The girl asked her. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Tenaya almost forgot her pain and smiled as she heard this. It was probably not the most appropriate title for him; they had only really told each other what they felt a short time ago. That didn't stop it sounding good to her though.

"I would like to say so." Tenaya replied weakly. "Yes, I would say he is."

Tenaya looked to her and smiled.

"I can't hug you, but...maybe hugging me would make you feel better?"

The little girl moved over slowly, before reaching her side, and then threw her little arms around Tenaya's chest. She rested her head against her chest, listening to her heartbeat's soothing rhythm.

Just then, she heard footsteps. She moved a little to rouse the girl's attention.

"He's coming back." She warned the little girl. "You're not meant to be here."

"He's going to hurt you more isn't he?" She asked her. Tenaya nodded.

"It's alright, I'm tough." She said with a wink. "I'll be fine."

"No you won't." The little girl sighed.

"I promise you that I'll be fine." Tenaya told her. "Just...don't get found. Hide where you were before. I don't think your mommy would like you being in here."

"You promise you'll be alright?" The little girl asked.

"I promise." Tenaya replied. "I would cross my heart but...well...my hands are otherwise occupied."

The little girl ran away, concealing herself in the rocks nearby before D46 came back. This time he was accompanied by two guards carrying a large tank of water.

"You know, I always knew I could hold my breath longer than normal." He told her. "Maybe it would be interesting how long."

"Oh joy." Tenaya breathed sarcastically.

As she watched the guards restrain Tenaya's hands behind her back, the little girl felt a sense of foreboding. She watched in horror as D46 grabbed her hair and held her head underwater, looking at his watch.

"Leave me with her guys." He instructed the other guards. "It looks like I'll be here a while."

Chas arrived back in his apartment shortly after another interview, finding Brie sitting on the couch, holding a pillow to her chest, sobbing loudly. She looked up as she heard the door closing.

"Chas, it isn't true I swear it." She assured him. "I swear it on my life; I swear it on the baby's life..."

"What are you talking about?" He asked her. Regretfully she handed over the evening newspaper.

"I can't believe he did this." He sighed. "Brie, I'm so sorry, I don't care what he does to me..."

"Chas, I was a bit of a party girl, you know that but I swear I always had my limits!" She screeched as tears streamed down her face. "You're the only man I've ever loved. I saved myself for you, you believe me don't you?"

"Brie, I'm really sorry." He repeated as he held her closely. The article was an expert piece of character assassination. He knew that Brie had a past, but who didn't? Of course this was different. If one were to read this...

"Chas, the baby is yours." She told him. "I know it. You're the only one I've ever..."

"Brie, I believe you, that isn't what upsets me." He assured her. "I trust you. I know you'd never betray me. What hurts me is seeing you like this."

"They've quoted people I thought were my friends!" She screeched. I can't believe they'd betray me like this!"

"He won't get away with this, I promise you." Chas told her, looking deeply into her eyes and resting a hand gently on her abdomen. He smiled at her. "I expected him to sink low, but trust me. When he's bringing my child into it, I will not let it stand!"

Back in the cave, D46 left again after his latest bout of torture. Tenaya by this time was close to the end. Despite her courage and her resilience, he had been working her over hard. She let out a low moan as she slumped down, almost hoping that this time it would be over.

"Pssst!" She heard a little way off. She lifted up her head, opening the one eye that wasn't swollen shut, looking towards the hiding place of her little friend. She looked up from the rock, making sure "The General" wasn't watching and rushed over to her.

"You lied." She whispered. "You said you'd be alright."

"Your general had other ideas." Tenaya said in a laugh, hoping to ease her nerves. "He wanted to play a little longer."

"This isn't fair!" She whimpered, reaching into her pocket. "He shouldn't do this to you."

With that, she unlocked the chains securing Tenaya's feet. She looked at her in amazement.

"You're a nice lady. He shouldn't be so mean." The little girl told her, unlocking the chains around her wrists. Tenaya hugged her warmly in thanks. "No one as nice as you can be bad."

"When I run, the others will chase me." She explained. "You stay out of the way and don't get caught alright?"

The little girl nodded.

"What's your name?" Tenaya asked her.

"Hope." She replied. "Mommy said we needed it, so she called me hope."

"Your mommy was right." Tenaya replied, hugging her once more. "Take care and don't get caught. Take care Hope."

Tenaya ran out of the cave, finding one guard on the right side of the opening. She took him down with a single punch, before leaping off the cliff face to the sand far below. She ran as fast as she could as the other guards realised she had escaped.

"How the hell did she get away?" D46 demanded as he arrived, seeing her disappearing over the horizon.

"We don't know General Truman." The guard replied as he stood up, stroking his chin.

"Pack everything up and move out!" Marcus ordered as he ripped off his mask and helmet. "Now she's escaped, there's no way we can risk staying here."


	10. Tenaya's Journey

A/N: Apologies for any strange alerts in anyone's inbox. I accidentally put this upate in the wrong story. OOOPS! Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Brie answered the door in the evening, finding Summer and Dillon standing there. They had seen the article in the newspaper earlier in the day, and Summer had insisted they go to see her. Having had her share of venomous headlines about her, she knew how she must be feeling. She reached in the door, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry your news got broken this way." She began as Dillon stood, watching them. Chas arrived behind his fiancée a second later. "It's not right that this has been stolen from you like that."

"I'm still happy about the baby." Brie told her in a little sob as she released her, wiping her eyes a little. "I've always wanted a family."

"I guess congratulations are in order." Dillon said, shaking Chas' hand.

"Thanks." He replied. "I just wish dad hadn't done this. It's not fair he took this from us."

"I can't believe he'd do this to his own son." Summer said sympathetically as they were shown through to the living room. "It's his grandchild."

"Not if you believe 'Dome Secrets' magazine." Brie stated angrily. "According to that it could be half the population of the dome."

"Brie, we were sorority sisters. I was your best friend for all those years." She assured her. "I know you and I were a little wild back then, but there's no way anyone that matters believes that you slept around."

"Unfortunately there are a lot more people that will believe it than don't." Chas stated as he came in from the kitchen with a couple of sodas. "That means potentially more voters believe that about her. Dad doesn't even care how much he's hurt her. The worst part is, I didn't even get to tell everyone myself. Some damn reporter found Brie's pregnancy test in our trash."

"Your dad could have a very painful accident." Dillon told him. He and Chas still had a frosty relationship, largely because of their past conflicts, but they were able to be civil to each other, since both he and Summer respected how much he had changed, and believed him to be a preferable Mayor to his father.

"Thanks, but he'd probably have the papers say I did it." He responded. "I was tempted to pay him a visit myself, but he'd probably want that."

"Anyway, we shouldn't let this ruin your news. Congratulations!" Summer gushed, hugging Brie again excitedly. She separated from her a little with a huge, bright grin on her face, one that Dillon had not seen often recently. "When did you find out?"

"I found out a couple of days ago." Brie replied happily. "I told Chas before the press conference."

"I couldn't be happier about it." He told his former fiancée as he held Brie's hand. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"How far along are you?" Summer asked Brie, positively radiating excitement. "I need to know everything."

"Well I have an appointment in a couple of days." Brie told her. "I don't know exactly how far gone I am, but I only started to suspect a week ago, so I can't be that far gone."

"So what are you going to do now?" Dillon asked Chas. The other man shook his head.

"I just don't want to sink to his level." He replied with a sigh. "I'm hoping to get some publicity out of the charity match. Now that Ziggy's agreed to fill in for Hicks, hopefully the popularity of the Rangers will put butts in the seats."

"Wait, Ziggy's playing?" Summer asked him. "I didn't know he played Lightningball!"

Chas sucked his teeth and shook his head uneasily. He still felt guilty about getting him involved without knowing the facts.

"Ms. Foster only told me after Ziggy left the orphanage that he's never even watched a game." He replied nervously. "I was going to bring around some game tapes to clue him in before the match..."

"He agreed to play and he doesn't know the rules?" Summer asked a little incredulously.

"When I said some of the profits would go to the orphanage, he just kind of went with it." Chas explained.

"Dillon, we need to get him ready for that game!" Summer told him.

"What could be so bad about it?" Dillon asked her. She then realised that Dillon also didn't know anything about one of Corinth's most popular, yet brutal forms of entertainment.

"Chas, give me all the tapes you have." Summer asked him. "Dillon, I'll explain on the way."

Meanwhile, outside the dome, Tenaya climbed to the top of a cliff to get a better view of the landscape. Since she had been unconscious when D46 had taken her to the resistance fighter's camp, she had no idea of where she was, or what direction she needed to go to reach Corinth. The only sensible plan was to try and find some form of landmark to use as a point of reference.

Using her enhanced vision to scan the horizon, she eventually managed to locate the four Venjix installations closest to Corinth. She knew that they were only a few miles from the dome. The only problem was that the way they were laid out was no real indication of direction. It was a rhombus shape, so unless she knew which installation was which, she could easily walk in the completely opposite direction to the dome. From here she couldn't tell which was which, she would have to get closer to inspect them.

She sat down to rest for a while and compose herself in preparation for the next leg of the journey. Between her brutal treatment at the hands of D46 and her hasty escape, she had little left, but she knew she wouldn't survive out in the wastes forever.

Her thoughts strayed back to Ziggy, thinking about how terribly she missed him. When D46 had told her that he would destroy her, she had felt for herself the sensation Sam had talked about all those months ago. She didn't care if she died; the only thing that she thought about was the fact that she would never see him again. Tears ran down her face as she thought about that. It was still possible that she wouldn't make it to Corinth, and perish out in the wastes far from the arms of her precious Green Ranger.

Getting up, she started to make her way down the cliff towards the installations. Her will to get back to Ziggy gave her a second wind. She was determined to hold him in her arms again.

Dillon and Summer arrived back at the Garage, finding Flynn and Scott talking to Ziggy energetically. Gem and Gemma seemed to be in the kitchen mixing something. Flynn was holding a newspaper.

"You replaced Hicks in the match?" Flynn yelled. "Are you completely mental?"

"Flynn, it's no big deal." Ziggy said back as he flailed under the questioning. "I play a game; some charities earn a little money, what's the worst that could happen? Sure I've never played before, so the worst that happens is I suck."

"Ziggy, a lot worse can happen than that." Summer told him, loading a tape into the screen and bringing up the image on the big screen. "Just watch."

He watched as the image came up. It was an arena, a little like an ice hockey rink, though glass extended much higher, forming into a fully enclosing dome to contain the match. He watched as the two teams lined up for the beginning of the game.

"You see those five pods at each end of the field?" Summer asked him. "The objective is to get a ball in all five of them. The first team to have all five pods filled wins."

"So it's kind of like basketball?" Ziggy asked her.

"You're allowed to carry the ball; it's about the size of a softball and is made of steel." She explained. "Each team has five players, two scorers, two defenders and a scoring zone guardian."

"Why are they all wearing so much armour?" He asked, noting that all the players were dressed head-to-foot in Kevlar plated armour, covering their chests, abdomens, arms, legs and head. The joints were flexible, though reinforced, leaving only their faces partially exposed, protected by a grill. "Is that guy carrying a quarterstaff?"

"That's a scoring zone guardian. He's allowed to carry a bo." She explained as the teams lined up. As the first claxon sounded, a hole in the centre circle opened, and the first ball fired up into the air. Both teams rushed each other in a dash for the ball.

"Ok, this seems..." Ziggy stared in horror as one of the players hit his opponent with a flying dropkick straight to the chest, sending him flying. "Is he allowed to do that?"

"It's called Lightningball, but a more accurate description would be murder the guy with the ball." Flynn told the young Green Ranger, patting him on the shoulder. "It was nice knowing you Ziggy."

"Whoa!" He screamed as he watched one of the guardians smashing a scorer across the head with his bo staff, sending him to the floor. Blood leaked from his mouth. "Are there like...any rules at all?"

"Not many." Scott replied as he went over to the kitchen where Gem and Gemma were waving them over wildly. "Well, it looks like the wondertwins have finished their blasting paste."

"Who are we playing against?" Ziggy asked Summer, grabbing her arm with a tight grip, bruising her painfully. She could see the fear in his eyes.

"The Rockets." She told him. "They were the champions of last year's professional league. They're Fresno Bob's team."

She finally pried his hand off, and went to the kitchen to listen to the twins' briefing of their latest brilliant idea. Ziggy though just continued to watch the screen, flinching with every attack he saw the players take.

"I am so screwed!" He whispered softly. It was too late to back out now, people were relying on him. Of course, seeing this, he knew that Saturday was going to be a long and painful day.

Back out in the wastes, Tenaya concealed herself in some rocks near one of the factories as she came closer. Grinders were busy herding the human slaves around as they performed their duties. She had seen these factories before, and knew how miserable and brutal the conditions were. Humans of all ages and condition were forced to work 10 hour days, and kept in tiny cells during their few sleeping hours. The fortunate died through accidents, illness or simply losing the will to live, of course this didn't bother Venjix. The only thing it cared about was losing workers, and so kept them maintained in a hellish limbo of conditions which were survivable, but far from comfortable to maximise efficiency.

She made her way as closely as she could, and watched the humans with a little sense of regret. Not long ago, she would have thought little about their suffering. Now though, she hated the thought that she'd have to leave them here even one minute longer. She wanted to free them, but she knew that she couldn't do so single-handed, and in her condition. For now, the odds were still not good that she would survive the trip back to Corinth.

She came as close as she dared to, before using her enhanced vision to check the sign over the door.

"Alpha project." She said to herself. She knew that the other factories were a few miles to her left, which meant they were on the West. That meant that Corinth was directly to her right.

Just then, she noticed something curious. There were people coming over a ridge a little way above the factory. She recognised them as resistance fighters, obviously on another raid to release a few slaves. Unfortunately though, they didn't seem to have done their research properly. Their plan of attack was flawed; they had mistimed the guard patrols. Tenaya knew that they would never get to the factory before the robotic guards looked back to the left and saw them, sounding an alarm. They had no cover at all, and were badly outnumbered. They were running into a turkey shoot.

She ran from her hiding place, drawing their attention. The Grinders mounted motorcycles to give chase. Tenaya smirked as she realised this. She knew that their programming would not consider one human outside the complex a threat and wouldn't sound the alarm; they would merely give chase and destroy or reclaim them. This was what she was counting on. Turning back on them, she ran towards them, performing a split-legged flying kick, smashing two of them into oblivion.

Picking up one of their hand weapons, she took down the remaining guards before they could return to the base to raise the alarm. Looking to one of the fallen bikes, she thought about simply stealing it and using it to return to Corinth, when she was blasted to the ground by a stun blast. She looked up, seeing D46 circling her menacingly. He put away his blaster and pulled an axe from his belt.

"You didn't get too far, did you?" He asked her, his voice muffled slightly by his mask.

"Your friends are attacking the factory; with your help they could release more prisoners." She yelled, trying to reason with him. "You have to go and help them!"

An explosion came from the direction of the factory, causing him to look up.

"It sounds like they're doing a good enough job." He replied. "Right now, I get to take you down baby sister."

He swung his axe wildly, aiming to decapitate her, though she managed to duck out of the way, grabbing it and pulling it from his grasp. She threw it aside, facing him as she stood back up.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't want to fight you?" She screamed. "I want to help you. We can get you all back to Corinth!"

"Liar!" He screamed, leaping at her, connecting with a harsh knee to the side of her face. It was clear that he was as strong as her. Even at a hundred percent, she would probably have had problems with him. In her current condition though, she would need a miracle to help her.

"You are nothing!" He roared as he kicked her hard in the face, spinning her onto her back. "You're nothing but a machine!"

He went over to the fallen axe, picking it up and approaching her. Tenaya looked up, feeling hopelessness claiming her as she realised she was no longer capable of defending herself.

"Don't worry; you're going to a better place." He sneered, raising the axe above his head, preparing for the fatal blow. "Goodbye!"

As she prepared to accept her fate, D46 was sent flying by an energy blast from a weapon nearby. He tried to get to his feet, only to be smashed back down and bludgeoned repeatedly by the Green Ranger's Nitro Sword. D46 rolled away and snapped back to his feet.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked his attacker. "You don't know what you've done!"

"We've saved lives." Dillon stated as he arrived, kneeling over his sister protectively. "Your friends were overmatched. The slaves are still there, but your soldiers have left with their lives."

"That thing doesn't deserve to live!" D46 snarled. "She's Venjix's little poodle!"

"She's my sister!" Dillon shouted back as he recalled his helmet. D46 shifted his position a little as he saw this.

"Subject D44." He gasped.

"My name is Dillon." He replied curtly. "Her name is Tenaya, and she is my sister."

D46 looked around, watching Summer approaching, and realised he was overmatched. Between them, this was a fight he couldn't win. Misguided as they were, they were clearly powerful enough to stop him, and the resistance needed him.

"My people need me." He muttered, putting his weapon away. "Those people in the factories will be freed."

"We want that too." Summer told him. "We were sent here to do recon for a rescue mission. We can take them to Corinth."

She threw him a citizens ID to confirm their story. He just sniggered a little dismissively.

"Do you have any idea how many people are in those facilities?" He asked them. "Do you really have transport for all those people? How do you expect to get a couple of thousand people past the Venjix Barricade?"

He turned and walked away, throwing her ID card over his shoulder dismissively.

"We won't win this war cowering in a cage like rats." He sneered. "If you help free those people, well and good, but don't think for one minute that I trust you or your sister D44."

As he left, the three Rangers powered down, crowding around their fallen friend. Tenaya smiled as she looked up at them, her strength failing her.

"Running off on your own isn't real smart." Dillon told her. "I guess that must be a family trait."

"I'll bear that in mind." She whispered weakly.

"Are you alright?" Ziggy asked her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine now." She replied. "How did you find me?"

"Once we were close to the factory, the signal from your bracelet showed up on the scanners." Summer explained. "Dillon, we need to get her to Dr. K."

With that, Dillon picked her up in his arms and carried her back to his car. Summer had called shotgun, so Ziggy climbed into the back. He knew it would be uncomfortably cosy in the back with two of them there, but with Tenaya returned to him alive, he knew it would be fine. Dillon handed her to him and helped him get her comfortable before re-setting his seat and getting in. As the four sped off back towards Corinth, Tenaya looked up into Ziggy's face and smiled through her pain. Feeling his arms around her again, she couldn't help but feel like everything would be fine.

"You came for me." She whispered, causing him to look down. "You saved me."

Looking up to make sure Dillon was too busy driving to notice, he brought her head up, gently kissing her forehead. Having her returned to him was the greatest gift anyone could give him. He smiled at her.

"I'll always be there for you." He whispered. "I promise."


	11. Ziggy's Training

Tenaya woke up, slowly getting her bearings after her treatments. She had been out in the wastes for a long time, and had been tortured mercilessly, leaving her considerably weakened. If it wasn't for the Venjix hardware within her, it was almost certain she would have died.

She felt an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, and her vision was a little blurry as her eyes fluttered open, taking in the harsh lights of Dr. K's lab. She saw someone with dark hair and a dark jacket leaning over her and smiled. Ziggy had kept his promise to her. He was there to watch over her. She felt her hand being knocked away as she reached for her mask.

"It's alright, I'll get it." The figure said, reaching to her face. Her vision cleared a little, and she felt a sense of disappointment as she realised from the voice that it was not Ziggy standing over her. It was Dillon. He removed the mask, looking into her face. "You gave us all quite a scare. What were you thinking running off like that?"

"I guess I wasn't thinking." She whispered her throat a little dry. Dillon looked around to someone in the background that she couldn't see.

"Can I get some water?" He asked. He was handed a cup, which he gently placed to her lips, pouring some into her mouth.

"Her condition is improving steadily." Dr. K's voice said from a little way off. "She has been fortunate that she was found so soon."

"She'll be alright Dillon." Summer's voice added. She stepped into view, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We got to her in time."

"Where's Ziggy?" She asked them. Dillon looked a little more serious as she said this.

"You've been through a lot." He reminded her. "You should rest; you shouldn't have many visitors right now."

"But..."

"Leave this stuff to Dr. K." Dillon interrupted her. "She knows what she's doing. Just be patient. We'll let you have all the visitors you want when you're stronger."

She started to pull herself up, becoming a little more impatient. She wanted to see Ziggy. He had promised he would be there for her. He had promised her that he would take care of her. Dillon grabbed her shoulders and pressed her back down gently, yet firmly enough to exceed her remaining strength, forcing her back down.

"You don't get a choice in this." He told her flatly. "I'm the big brother here. Dr. K says you need to rest."

"But..."

"I'm not above having Dr. K restrain you." He interrupted her, replacing the mask. "You are staying right here, and you aren't to move an inch until Dr. K gives you the all clear, is that understood?"

Tenaya looked at him, her eyes betraying her frustration, but nodded as she realised the futility of her situation. There was a little awkwardness between herself and the Black Ranger. They had only found out they were related a few days ago, and they were largely still trying to find their way when it came to how they acted around each other.

They had remembered so far that in their lives before the procedure, she had been blind, and that Dillon had apparently taken a large role in her care. Given the way he was acting, it seemed he was taking this role seriously. As much as she could take care of herself, and there were few who could deny that, it wasn't like she was in a position to argue right now.

"I'll be watching." He told her, tapping her restraining bracelet. "I wasn't joking about the restraining thing. If you move an inch..."

She muttered something which he took to being an acceptance of his terms. She had indeed resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't to leave the lab, though it was probably just as well her "brother" couldn't hear what she had actually said. He smiled at her.

"I'll come to see you in a little while." He told her. He raised a hand, considering touching her hair for comfort, but his hand just kind of hovered there for a while. Neither of them could deny that there were feelings there, but it was still a little awkward. Neither of them were sure how close they were or how intimate their contact should be. He let out a sigh and withdrew his hand, causing her to feel a little relieved. She settled down onto the bed as the three of them left the room, feeling only disappointment that she couldn't see Ziggy. A few tears ran down her face as she settled down to sleep. Why hadn't he come to see her?

Out in the main room, all the furniture had been pulled back, and the vehicles had been parked out in the street for safety. A few mats had been put down on the floor to protect it, while Chas, Flynn and Scott tried to explain the finer points of Lightningball to Ziggy. He was wearing a toy Football helmet, some mismatched motocross armour, and a couple of soccer shin pads for effect. Right now they were throwing softballs at him, but his attempts at catching them were more than a little haphazard. He caught the odd one or two, more through luck than design.

"Come on Ziggy!" Flynn roared at him as he started to get a little frustrated. "Haven't you played any kind of ball games before?"

"Ms. Foster rarely had enough kids for anything like softball." He replied in an irritated tone as another ball rebounded off his helmet.

"Look, it's only a charity game; no one's expecting us to beat the Rockets." Chas reminded him, more as a way to alleviate his own guilt at getting Ziggy into this in the first place than any real defence of his abilities as it quickly became obvious that he was far from a skilled player. "I'll have to put in some calls to get some armour that'll fit you, but I should have it here by tomorrow night. In the meantime, maybe we should work on your defence and tackling."

"Well that shouldn't be too much trouble." Flynn replied, collecting a pad. When he had joined the team at first, one of the things that worried them the most was that he was hardly the ideal warrior. He was small, skinny, and had never really been in any major fights. At first, only Dillon had any real faith in him, the reaction of the others the first time he recalled his helmet, revealing his identity had been far from encouraging.

Over time though, he had worked hard. Eventually, Summer and Flynn had accepted that since his DNA had been bonded to the morpher, it was pointless to complain, and instead had worked with him to improve his technique. Scott had eventually also come around and helped with his training. He was still far from their level, though now he had improved considerably, to the point where he was now an impressive fighter in his own right. Chas stood back as Ziggy started to attack the pad.

"Move around!" Chas yelled. "No one stands still in Lightningball. You have to chase the guy with the ball. Flynn! You're the one with the ball; try to take him down Ziggy!"

Chas watched as Ziggy launched into an impressive attack pattern, and smiled.

"This might not be such a disaster after all." He commented, nodding his head knowingly. "He can hold his own."

"Well practice is one thing, taking on the Rockets is another." Summer commented. "Umm...Chas, you said you could get armour to fit him. How...?"

"I know the manager of the Icini." He interrupted her. Summer and Scott sniggered a little.

"Chas, they're a ladies team." Scott reminded him.

"All the male professional players are too big. None of them could lend him armour that would fit." Chas told them. "Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Flynn bore Ziggy to the ground, levelling him. The others looked across a little concerned.

"OK, that's enough for tonight." Ziggy wheezed a little as he got up. His eyes strayed to the door leading to the lab Tenaya was being treated in. While he was far from an athlete, there was another thing playing on him. So far he hadn't had a chance to go and see her since they had brought her back to the city. Dillon had been to see her, and he knew that he would want to know why if Ziggy had asked to see her. It was something he was unlikely to be able to explain, especially since Dr. K had insisted that she was still weak from her ordeal and had insisted that her visitors be restricted to allow her time to rest. He felt badly about not being able to go and see her. He promised her he would be there from her, but right now that wasn't possible.

"Ziggy, we have to get you ready for..."

"Its fine Chas, I'll train with you again tomorrow." Ziggy told him, tearing off his armour and heading away towards his room. Summer looked a little worried as he left.

"I promise I'll be around tomorrow to help some more." Chas assured her. "In the meantime, I need to see someone about whether or not it's worth starting a defamation suit against Dome Secrets."

He left the Garage, heading back to his apartment.

"I'm just going to find Gem and Gemma." Scott stated. "The last time I saw them was when we defeated the Saw Bot. If we don't keep tabs on them they might just go on another 'super fun, super secret' mission without us."

"I never would have thought it was possible, but the way they write is weirder than the way they talk." Flynn agreed.

"You haven't tried to read one of their maps." Summer commented as Scott went off in search of the twins. Dr. K watched him go, and just seemed to quietly leave the room to head back to her secure quarters.

"I'm heading to my room." Dillon told them. "I need some time alone."

As he left, Flynn gathered some equipment together. Summer grabbed his t-shirt, attracting his attention.

"Flynn, this isn't going well." She told him. "You know Ziggy isn't ready. If we don't help him..."

"Summer, we'll get him ready in time for the match." Flynn replied sadly. "You heard Chas, he's..."

"He's going to be eaten alive!" Summer interrupted him. "The smallest guy on the Rocket's first team outweighs him by over 100 pounds! Even with his training he'll get hurt."

Flynn just ignored her as he carried on gathering balls into a net. Summer grabbed him and turned him to face her.

"Flynn, his mind wasn't on practice." She said softly, looking to him sympathetically. "He's worried about something and you're covering for him, I can see it."

Flynn let out a small sigh and shook his head.

"He's worried about Tenaya." He told her. "He hasn't been able to see her since she got back."

"She's with Dr. K and Dillon." Summer replied. "I know he's been taking care of her, but he should know..."

"It's more complicated than that Summer." He interrupted her, pulling her in more closely. "You saw the way he kept looking over to that door."

"What?" She asked him, looking to the door a little surprised. "Are you serious?"

Flynn nodded his head sadly.

"Is it serious?" She asked him.

"Summer, he asked me not to say anything." Flynn told her. "He's worried about what Dillon will think. For what it's worth, he told me he loves her."

Summer leant back against the wall, looking up to the ceiling as she processed this information.

"How does she feel about him?" She asked the Blue Ranger.

"Why do you think she really ran out of the dome on her own?" Flynn asked her. "She knew we hadn't figured out what Venjix had planned, she was certain we'd be trapped in here like everyone else. She's been trapped here for almost two months, but not because of us. We haven't even been trying to restrain her for a while, and we all know if she made a conscious effort there would be little we could do to stop her."

Summer ran a hand through her hair and looked towards Ziggy's room.

"She's only been trapped here by her fear of Venjix." He continued. "That day she ran out to face potentially everything it had single handed and unarmed. What do you know could make someone take a risk like that?"

"Poor Ziggy, he must be going out of his mind." Summer commented.

"I've tried to convince him that letting Dillon know might not be such a bad thing." Flynn told her.

"He's still trying to figure out things with her himself." She replied. "I love him, but even I can admit that he never thinks things through to deeply when he's upset. We have to approach this slowly."

"In the meantime," Flynn sighed, gathering the last of the equipment, "we should probably just concentrate on hoping he lives long enough that fate doesn't make this a non-issue."

Meanwhile, at the racetrack, Fresno Bob was quietly having dinner with a few business associates. Between mouthfuls of soup, prepared by his personal chef, he shared jokes and discussed business strategies with his partners.

Benny came into the room as the plates from the first course were cleared away, coming over to his boss and whispering something in his ear.

"If you'll excuse me, I have something urgent to take care of." He told them. "Waiter, make sure they have plenty of wine, and instruct the chef to hold off on the main course for five minutes."

He left the room with Benny, closing the door behind him.

"Where is he?" Fresno Bob asked him.

"I asked him to wait in your office." Benny told him. "I told him you were busy, but he insisted it was important."

The crime boss was far from happy about being pulled out of that meeting. He was going over business, and it was far from convenient to have those discussions interrupted.

He stepped into his office, finding Mr. Winchester sitting on his chair, with his feet crossed on his desk, quietly sipping some scotch, and smoking a cigar.

"You know those refreshments you've helped yourself to cost almost a grand." The gangster stated with a little smile. "If it was anyone but you, I'd probably already have them six feet under just for having the audacity to sit in my chair!"

"I take it you've read tonight's newspaper." Mr. Winchester stated, pointing to it. "It seems my son has recovered a lot more than I thought from the article I had published."

"You know a lot less about people than you think, unfounded allegations that his fiancée slept around on him?" Fresno Bob laughed dismissively. "Questioning the parentage of his child? You know blue-bloods like yourself might care about crap like that but the normal working man? He'd probably find it admirable if he helped a single mom, and how many politicians do you know who've had affairs?"

"Don't you dare lecture me on politics!" Mr. Winchester snapped, crushing out his cigar in the ashtray. "I want my son to be crushed!"

"You really are a family man aren't you?" Fresno Bob asked. "I guess that's why you came to me Charles."

"We're only related through marriage Bob." Charles reminded him. "Besides, we both know that both of us benefit from our mutual businesses."

"The first thing you have to do is understand your enemy." Fresno Bob told him. "You have to know what makes him tick, figure out where his weaknesses lie."

"He's my son..."

"So naturally you know nothing about him." Fresno Bob remarked as he poured himself a drink. "The first thing to know is that he won't sink as low as you. Since his heroics, he's leading a good life now. He doesn't want to get involved in a mudslinging campaign, which is just as well because we both know you have a lot more skeletons in your closet than he does."

"So what do you suggest?" He asked him.

"I suggest we start a scandal." Fresno Bob told him. "One people will care about."

"I thought you might see things my way." Mr. Winchester replied.

"Well just about every former Mayor's promised to make the reduction of organised crime a chief manifesto policy." Fresno Bob chuckled in reply. "Of course your son's the first one that wasn't already dealing with us in some way, so I'm a little worried the little shit might actually go through with it. That would be bad for business. I hate losing money."

"So what do you have in mind?" Mr Winchester asked him.

"We'll have to do a lot to overcome the popularity your son will have earned by saving the game. Bringing in Ziggy was a brilliant move." Bob stated. "Of course Lightningball is a rough game, sometimes people get hurt."

"You plan to settle your own vendetta and mine at the same time?" Charles asked him, taking a sip. "I know the Green Ranger burned you a while back."

"As tempting as that sounds, I still think setting the dogs on him would look a little suspicious, even in a Lightningball match." Fresno Bob suggested, looking at him in a way that was slightly unsettling. "I was planning on unleashing the dogs; I just had a different target in mind."

He sat on the edge of the desk and looked into his eyes.

"How much do you really like your son?" He asked.

"That's your plan?" Mr. Winchester sneered. "Beat him up? If anything that'll make him look like a damned hero! It's a charity game he arranged..."

"Trust me; this is only the beginning of my plan." He replied. "Character assassination is an art form. It takes time, it takes planning. Trust me, by the time I'm finished, he'll have less chance of being elected than Benny."


	12. Uncle Bob's Plan

Tenaya stirred a little as she felt a gentle touch on her forehead, and a hand softly stroking her hair. She started to come to, trying to focus her vision. She looked up, seeing Ziggy standing over her. He pressed a finger to his lips to indicate to her to keep quiet.

She mumbled something under her mask, which came out a little muffled. Ziggy pulled the mask off gently, allowing her to speak unrestricted.

"Where were you?" She asked him weakly. "You promised you'd be there for me."

"Dr. K and Dillon insisted you didn't get any visitors. They want you to get some rest to recover." He told her. "For what it's worth, I'm here now."

"I wanted to see you." She whispered gently. "When he captured me, when he was torturing me...I thought I'd never see you again. You're the one I wanted to see when I woke up..."

"Look, Dillon's taking this new role in your life seriously." Ziggy explained as he looked deeply into her eyes, continuing to stroke her hair softly. "He was pretty serious about taking Dr. K's advice with your recovery. He knows I've looked after you before, I guess...he just wants to make up for lost time."

"I want you to do it." She replied, grabbing one of his hands. "I really..."

"Tenaya, you know what Dillon's like, he's just taking things a little seriously." Ziggy told her. "You know it's been awkward for you too. We'll tell them eventually, just...try to get better. Once you do, you can move back into the living area. That'll make seeing each other easier."

"Ziggy, you say you love me, but so far...you haven't told anyone about us." She whispered, looking away from him. "Are you just telling me what I want to hear?"

"Tenaya, I'm not ashamed of you." He assured her, turning her face back towards him. "I love you, when you were missing; I was going out of my mind. I didn't care about anything but getting you back."

He pulled her covers up, making sure she was warm enough.

"I'll tell the others, but we have to let Dillon know first. It'd only be right that he knows." Ziggy told her, caressing her hand gently with his thumb. "Once you're strong enough to go back to your room, we'll tell him together."

"You promise?" Tenaya asked him. Ziggy smiled and nodded at her. Dillon was his best friend, and he hated the thought of sneaking around behind his back. That said, he was terrified of his reaction when he found out about them. Dillon had indeed been finding it hard figuring out where he and Tenaya stood with each other. He would probably feel like Ziggy had taken advantage of her while she was vulnerable, and the big brother was meant to hate his sister's boyfriends by policy anyway. With Dillon, it was verging on suicidal to bring up that situation, but looking down on Tenaya, feeling her in his presence; he knew that he had to be with her. As much as facing Dillon scared him, he wanted to be with her.

"We'll tell all of them, I promise." He told her with a childishly cheerful grin on his face. He leant down, kissing her deeply, allowing her to feel the warmth of his embrace once more. She smiled up at him.

"You just rest." He told her, replacing her mask. "The sooner you get better, the sooner we can tell the others. Then we can be together as much as you want."

She just smiled as he said this. It sounded like a wonderful thought. Ziggy made his way to the door, stopping by the light switch.

"I'll come back as soon as I can." He told her. "I love you."

He felt a warmth within him as he heard her say something muffled beneath her mask. He didn't need to hear the words; he knew what she was trying to say. He went out into the main Garage, finding himself confronted by Summer.

"You know considering the fact he only sleeps about three hours a night you might want to be a little more subtle." She suggested.

"I thought she needed something..."

"She does need something Ziggy." She told him. "She needs the man that loves her. Don't try and deny it, I figured it all out."

Ziggy sighed and sat on the stairs, wringing his hands through his hair in anguish. Summer came over beside him and put an arm around him.

"Does he know?" Ziggy asked her.

"What do you think?" She asked him. "Do you really think if he knew that he wouldn't be here?"

"I guess not." Ziggy replied, sinking further into himself. "Can you keep it quiet?"

"Ziggy, because you love Tenaya you understand the position this puts me in. You know I can't do that." She told him. "It's alright, I won't tell him yet, I want to give you a chance, but you know you have to tell him right?" He nodded in response.

"I know I have to tell him eventually. I've already promised Tenaya that we'll tell him once the doc gives her the all-clear to go back to the main living area." He replied. He looked into Summer's eyes pleadingly. "I'm not messing around with her. I really love her, you know that right?"

"Ziggy, that's exactly why I want you to approach this gently." She replied. "If I thought you were messing with her, I'd already have told Dillon and we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I've seen what the two of you are willing to do for each other, to go through for each other."

"I've never met anyone like her." He told the Yellow Ranger. "I never thought I could feel that way about anyone."

"She'll be fine." Summer assured him. "I'll help you with Dillon."

"Thanks Summer, that really means a lot to me." Ziggy told her. "You don't know how much."

"Get some sleep." She instructed him. "In the morning, Chas will be doing some more training with you. Tenaya will be looked after; you just worry about that game. You wouldn't want to end up in hospital just as she's getting out would you?"

Ziggy watched her go, feeling the usual warmth he always did from her. She always did all she could to smooth things over between the team members. She had reached out to him when he came into the group, helping him become one of them. He knew that she would have his best interests at heart.

He went up to the guy's bedroom, finding his way to his bed and started to get changed for bed. He still wanted nothing more than to see her, to remain by her side. Right now though, he knew that Summer was right. The best thing he could do for her was to concentrate on the game, and make sure he got through it alive.

Flynn yawned loudly and wandered into the main Garage, finding Scott working out with Gem and Gemma. He was sparring at that moment against Gemma, while Gem sat on the sidelines, shouting encouragement and commentating the match, all interspersed with the usual sound-effects the twins added to everything.

He had to try hard not to laugh as he watched them, thinking that rather than being focused on his training as he usually was...he actually looked to be enjoying himself. Flynn had to admit that while their energy and enthusiasm was still wearing and a little unsettling at times, they were starting to grow on them. If anything, they were kind of fun to have around.

He left them to it, making his way into the lab, finding Dr. K working hard on the computer.

"So what are you up to today good doctor?" Flynn asked her cheerfully as he arrived.

"I'm currently sorting through the information Summer, Dillon and Ziggy brought back from their recent mission to the Venjix factory." She informed him. "I want to compile as much data as possible before we arrange an attack."

"Well I don't remember much about what they said, but I do remember you describing that thing they're building as a 'doomsday weapon'." He responded, putting a hand on the back of her chair to look over her shoulder. "I for one would like to go and destroy that factory before that thing gets off the ground."

"That was precisely my thoughts Flynn." Dr. K replied, accessing more of the information Summer had downloaded to the Series Yellow morpher. "Not to mention we have to find a way to rescue all those workers."

"Now that is a lot of slaves!" Flynn replied with a low whistle as he looked at the list of names. "Even with all the Zords we'd only be able to bring back about a dozen. There must be hundreds of people in there!"

"I think I may be able to construct a three dimensional map of the compound from the information in here." She told him. "That should allow us to plan a strategy that will allow us to evacuate the prisoners and destroy the factory."

"That's all well and good, but we still have that little problem of what we do with the prisoners when we release them." Flynn reminded him.

"This is uncomfortable. You have to understand that I'd only ever suggest this as a temporary measure." Dr. K sighed. "We simply don't have the transport vehicles to bring them back. Of course, we do know that there is somewhere they can be safe outside the dome..."

"You're not seriously suggesting..."

"For all his aggression and antisocial disposition, D46 does keep the only colony of humans surviving out with the dome that we can confirm the existence of hidden and safe." Dr. K reminded him. "If we can't bring them to the dome yet, then the resistance is the only other option."

"In case you'd forgotten, D46 doesn't really play too nicely." Flynn protested sarcastically. "In case you'd forgotten, you might just want to look at the state he left Tenaya in, and she isn't exactly a delicate little flower."

"Who isn't?" Scott asked as he arrived, mopping his brow after his hard-fought sparring session with Gemma. "It isn't like any of the women that live here are exactly helpless. I mean, we've all fought with Tenaya, Summer can hold her own, and Gemma's just given me a pretty good run for my money. You know, when I first met them, I didn't know if I'd ever be able to take them seriously, but now?"

"She and her brother were always training back at Alphabet Soup." Dr. K said, keeping on working, trying hard not to look at him. Not only was it hard for her to keep her mind on the job thinking about him in his gym equipment, she had also noticed that when talking about the women on the team, her name had been noticeably absent. Her one hand was holding a pencil, which she started drumming on the desk. "I suppose Gemma impressed you during your sparring session. She is quite formidable..."

"Formidable isn't the word for it. She's amazing!" He rushed out, excitedly. "She's fast, she's strong..."

"She's tall, she's attractive." Dr. K muttered under her breath so he couldn't hear. The drumming got a little harder and louder.

"I have to admit, they took a little getting used to." Flynn said with a shrug. "But they've impressed the hell out of me in the field so far."

"Hey Scott!" Gemma chirped enthusiastically as she and her brother came into the room. "You ran out on us in the middle of training."

"It's your turn again." Gem added.

"Come on!" Gemma giggled as she grabbed the Red Ranger and virtually dragged him back to the training area. "We haven't finished yet!"

"Would you like to join us?" Gem asked Flynn. "It'll be super fun!"

"I was actually going to help Dr. K..."

"Its fine Flynn, I don't need your assistance." She told him. Flynn just shrugged and went with the Gold Ranger, leaving her alone in the lab. As soon as she was finally alone, her face twisted into an angry scowl and she grabbed the pencil in both hands, snapping it, and throwing the pieces as far as she could across the lab. She rested her face on her hand, leaning on the table as she felt her frustration rising. Indeed she didn't need Flynn's help right now. Of course it hurt to think that it also appeared that Scott didn't need her. Then again, why would he? It wasn't like she could compete with Gemma.

Chas was sitting in his doctor's office, running through a few more tests. He winced in discomfort as the doctor flexed his leg to check the range of motion.

"It looks like the range of motion is almost back to normal." Doctor Williams said with a smile on his face as he inspected it. "Your wound has healed up nicely. How is the pain?"

"It isn't as bad now as it was." He replied honestly. "It's a little uncomfortable at times."

"Well I'd probably recommend against taking part in that game, but I doubt you're going to listen to me by now." Dr. Williams told him, drawing a needle. "I'd just like to give you a little something to help with the discomfort."

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Chas asked him. "I could always just take a couple of Aspirin before the game."

"Trust me; this'll have you feeling so much better." Dr. Williams assured him. Chas felt the needle go into his thigh, and the painkiller was injected into him. It didn't take long for it to begin to affect him.

"I feel a little strange." He informed the doctor. "Is this normal?"

"It is quite a strong painkiller, that's why I wanted you to take it early, so it has time to work through." He explained. "You'll feel a little light-headed right now, but it should pass in the next few minutes. Trust me, it'll help."

Chas just nodded in understanding before pulling his clothes back on.

"I'd like you to come back in tomorrow for another dose." He instructed Chas, giving him an appointment card. "It'll be fine; it should just help with the worst of the discomfort. We wouldn't want you having to pull out of the game halfway through now would we?"

"No...of course not...um...thanks doctor." He replied as he finished getting dressed. He took the appointment card and left. As soon as he was gone, Dr. Williams pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

"He's just left my office." He told the man on the other end. "I gave him the shot just as you wanted."

"Excellent." Fresno Bob replied in a cold tone. "You are certain..."

"The dosage I'm giving him will have the desired effect within the next couple of days." Dr. Williams assured him. "If he takes that dosage for much longer..."

"My boys will make sure he has plenty of need for painkillers." Fresno Bob interrupted him. "I'll create the demand. Just make sure you keep up the supply."

Dr. Williams hung up, and hung his head in his hands. He hated having to do this. He knew that what he had been asked to do to Chas was wrong. It stood against everything he had been trained to do as a doctor. He just didn't have a choice. With Fresno Bob breathing down his neck, he couldn't refuse. He knew exactly what it would cost him.


	13. Flynn's Special Mission

The day before the big match, Brie woke up, finding Chas dead to the world on the bed next to her. He hadn't slept well for a while now, between the pain of his injuries and the stress of his campaigning, but last night, he'd just kind of crashed out the moment he hit the mattress. In some ways it was good to see him getting some rest, but it was unusual to see him sleeping so late. Having been in the military, he was used to early wake up calls, but right now he seemed to be in a deep sleep, and showed no signs of moving.

"Chas, it's time to get up." She whispered, shaking him gently. "You have to get ready for the family fun day at the plaza."

Shortly after Ziggy had agreed to take part in the game, he had come up with the idea of having a family fun day the day before the game in the central plaza. Due to the violent nature of Lightningball, it was not really a family-friendly spectator sport, and Ziggy had thought that since some of the money was going towards the orphanage, it would be nice if the kids could have something to enjoy too. As a result, the fundraising had become a two-day event with a carnival for the kids on the first day, and the Lightningball match to cap off the proceedings at the end of the second day. Chas had been all for the idea, despite the extra effort. He had to acknowledge that the idea of having a fun day for families would definitely raise his profile.

Chas just grunted and pulled the covers over his head. Brie just prodded him hard in the ribs, rousing him with a start.

"Chas, you're meant to see the doctor before you get there." She reminded him. "It's already 8:30. If you don't move, you're going to be late for the set up!"

"Is it really that late?" He yawned, pulling himself up from the bed, though the effort took much of the strength he had. He held his head as he tried to get his bearings.

"Is everything alright?" Brie asked him, becoming a little concerned.

"I just zoned out for a second there." He told her, shaking his head to focus. "I can't believe I've slept so late. I really need to hit the shower."

"I'll make you something for breakfast." She told him.

"No, I'm already going to be late." He replied, kissing her cheek as he grabbed a towel. "I'll grab something on the way."

"Chas, maybe you need to take it a little easier." She said, feeling his forehead. "You don't look too good."

"I can't slow down, my dad's probably already..." He noticed the newspaper on the doormat and picked it up, reading the headline and dumping it straight in the trash. "My dad isn't resting, neither can I."

"Your dad isn't campaigning by himself though. He has a whole cabinet of spin doctors on his payroll." She reminded him. "Chas, you can only do so much, it isn't good for you to run yourself down like this."

"Brie, we'll talk about this tonight." He replied, making his way to the shower. "Right now, I have some things to take care of."

Meanwhile, over at the Garage, the other Rangers were preparing for the day ahead. Since Dr. K still hadn't completed the schematics for their assault on the factory, she had given them all permission to take the day off to help with the family fun day. Ziggy was rushing down his breakfast excitedly, hoping to polish it off as quickly as he could. He had been lent a minibus so he could bring Ms. Foster and all the kids from the orphanage to the plaza for the day.

"Whoa, slow down there!" Summer laughed, seeing him shovelling away cereal so quickly it seemed unlikely he could breathe. "We still haven't set up the stalls at the carnival yet. There's no point bringing the kids to an empty plaza."

"I know, I guess I'm just a little excited." He told her, casting a quick look over to the door to the infirmary. Summer could see the look in his eyes and knew that he was thinking about Tenaya. "I guess I just thought this could keep my mind off things."

"I'm kind of looking forward to it too." She told him with a huge grin on her face. "It's been ages since I've seen those kids. I'm sure they'll love this."

"I know they will." Ziggy replied as he finished off his cereal and took the bowl back to the kitchen area. "I always love it when I get a chance to do something for them. This will be great!"

"I agree..."

"...It'll be super fun..."

"...We can't wait!"

Ziggy and Summer had to try not to laugh as Gem and Gemma bounded into the room enthusiastically, carrying a couple of crates of tools and materials for the preparation of the stalls. They had already painted each other's faces; Gem's was painted like a falcon, while Gemma had gone for a tiger, obviously in reference to their Zords.

"I see you're getting into the spirit of things." Ziggy said with as straight a face as he could under the circumstances.

"We're heading out to the plaza now..."

"...we're really psyched to set up..."

"...want to come with us?"

"Thanks, but I have a few things to sort out here first." Summer told them. "I was planning on helping Ziggy collect the kids."

"I'm really looking forward to meeting them!" Gemma gushed, making her way to the door to the guy's room. "Come on you two! It's time to go!"

Scott followed her, taking one of the crates from her hand helping load it into his car as Dr. K arrived in the room in time to see him opening the door for Gemma. Her mood darkened a little as she saw this. While the Rangers were getting the chance to go to the carnival and have a good time, she was going to be back at the base, still trying to come up with a strategic model for their assault. This just gave Scott and Gemma more time together.

She had already resigned herself to the fact that there was a lot more in common between Scott and Gemma than there was between Scott and herself, Gemma was a lot more capable than her, and she was now one of his comrades in the field. It was only logical that he would pay more attention to the Silver Ranger than to her. That didn't ease the uncomfortable, sometimes painful twisting feeling in her gut any time she saw them together. Dillon loaded the crates into the back of his car and looked over to Summer.

"I'm going to help Ziggy round up the kids." She called over, pre-empting his question. "Take Gem with you, he'll need a ride."

"Whoa, I always wanted to ride in your car." Gem gasped as he looked over it. "It's so big and powerful...I bet it's fast..."

"Gem, could you do me a favour and not talk?" Dillon asked him. Gem just nodded as he got into the car. Dillon went over to Summer's side and put his arm around her.

"Have fun with the ankle biters." He told her, leaning in to kiss her. Summer kissed him, before he turned and left, getting into the car and peeling out of the Garage, with Scott a little way behind.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us Doc?" Ziggy asked her. "Come on, I promise I'll get you some cotton candy. I'm going to be doing my magic act!"

"Ziggy, I have no desire to fill myself with processed sugars and food colourings, and while I am aware that magic exists, given the existence of certain Power Ranger teams before the Venjix attacks, I sincerely doubt you have any genuine magical ability and rely on obvious and tedious sleight of hand deception." She replied in a sigh, focusing on her work to take her mind off the image of Scott and Gemma going to the carnival and having the time of their lives without her, and no doubt just getting closer. "Besides, I really want to finish organising an attack strategy for the assault on the factory."

"Where's Flynn?" Summer asked as she realised that he was noticeably absent. "I haven't seen him all morning."

"Flynn left on a special assignment for me earlier this morning." She told them both. "All going well, he should not be more than a couple of hours. I'm sure he'll be back in time to eat as many sausages of questionable origin as his heart desires."

"It kind of sucks he'll miss the start." Summer commented. "Are you sure there's nothing we can do to help?"

"It is a one-man mission Summer. He will be fine." She replied, still not entirely happy at being kept in the dark as to Flynn's whereabouts.

"He will be fine." Dr. K repeated. "Now, I believe you are due to collect the children from the orphanage."

"Um...Dr. K?" Ziggy asked nervously. "Is Tenaya well enough to go? After what happened, I think she could do with some cheering up."

"She is still badly injured following her recent ill treatment." Dr. K told him, but seeing the look in his eyes, she just sighed and shook her head. "I'll check over her when she wakes up. If she's strong enough, I'll let her go."

"Thanks doc." Ziggy replied, making his way over to the minibus. "Come on Summer, it's time we picked up the kids."

Meanwhile, Flynn was far outside the dome, driving the Lion Hauler through the desert. The doctor had sent him to go in search of the resistance fighters, knowing that once they destroyed the factory, there would be more captives than they could evacuate with the Zords, meaning that the only alternative was to send them to the Resistance.

He checked his scanners again, noting that there were still no signs of life out here. He was grateful that Dr. K had given the Lion Hauler a short-term upgrade to its cloaking technology, rendering it almost invisible to Venjix's scans. He headed out in the direction of the last known location of the Resistance. Tenaya had told them all she could about them, and the one thing he knew for certain was that they had no vehicles, meaning that they would likely not have gone far from their old camp.

He pulled the Lion Hauler over as he arrived by some cliffs, stepping out of the cab and taking a look around. He had never been terribly convinced by the wisdom of going out with the dome by himself, but Dr. K had made a good case and talked him into it. D46, the leader of this group of guerrillas, had already encountered Dillon, Tenaya, Ziggy and Summer, and so was unlikely to hear them out if they tried to talk with him. Gem and Gemma were far from ideal in the role of negotiators, which only left him or Scott, and Dr. K had her reasons for sending him in place of Scott.

He heard some rocks shifting and looked up to the cliffs. He operated the enhanced vision mode, finding someone nestled into the rocks, watching him. He got a closer look, seeing that he was carrying a shotgun.

"Hold it right there!" He heard a gruff voice barking from a little way behind him. He held up his hands in a gesture to indicate he had no intention of attacking. About a dozen guerrillas made their way out of their hiding places among the rocks, and advanced slowly, pointing their weapons his way. Some had merely pistols or crossbows, while the more fortunate among them had procured shotguns, or even a couple of AK 47's. He felt his Nitro Blaster being pulled from the holster, and watched as it was thrown aside, though made no attempt to stop this happening. He was here to negotiate, not start a fight. The last thing he wanted was to start one before he got a chance to speak. "It's a new colour, but I recognise the spandex. You're one of the ones who's friends with D44 aren't you?"

"He goes by Dillon now." Flynn told him, figuring that the man shoving a blaster into the small of his back was D46. "I only came here to talk."

"Your friends did save some of my men the last time they were out here, so I'll give you a pass this once." D46 replied. "Get in the bus, turn around and get to hell out of here."

"I wanted to talk to you about something. We share an objective, and we have a plan that could be mutually beneficial." Flynn told him. "I know you probably don't want to listen, but I have a gift in my vehicle. Call it a good will gesture. Just listen to what I have to say and if you aren't convinced, I'll be on my way."

The back of the Lion Hauler opened up, allowing access. D46 made a hand gesture to two of his men to check it out.

"There are thick seams of iron ore in these cliffs." Flynn stated. "It blocks scanners and hides your bio signatures. That's pretty clever. It fooled my sensors."

"Sir, the crates check out." One of the soldiers called back. "He brought us provisions."

"There's food, clothing, medical supplies, weapons and ammunition." Flynn informed him. "That should help out."

D46 was thrown a blaster from one of the crates, and he inspected it, finding it to be fully operational.

"You have two minutes." D46 told him.

"We're going to destroy the Alpha Project factory." Flynn informed him. "We know you want that as much as we do. However, our vehicles will not be sufficient to bring back all the prisoners. We will take all the prisoners we can, however, were hoping that if you co-ordinated your attack with us, then you and your men could evacuate the other prisoners to the safety of your camp."

"Is that all?" D46 said sarcastically. "Do you have any idea how many people are in there? We barely have enough resources to go around as it is."

"We will support you in any way we can." Flynn told him. "We can arrange similar deliveries to be made at intervals to keep you supplied, and evacuate small groups back to Corinth on the return trips."

"You want to weaken my army?" D46 asked, cocking his blaster. Flynn prepared for the worst. He knew his suit would protect him from the first blast, but that didn't mean its protection would hold out indefinitely, and with these numbers, he was bound to find the suit's limit a lot more quickly than he was comfortable with.

"I only propose that we evacuate those unfit to fight." Flynn replied. "I have heard that you have children out here. Sick and injured too. As another gesture of good will, I'm willing to take back some of those most vulnerable."

"Sir, perhaps we should think about this." One of his soldiers suggested. "We're already stretched pretty thin. Maybe sending some of the non-combatants to Corinth would ease the strain."

"I have room for about a dozen in the back of the Lion Hauler." Flynn informed him. "Perhaps I can manage 15 at a squeeze."

"That still leaves us having to take a lot more refugees than we can manage." D46 replied. He put his blaster down, allowing Flynn to turn and face him. Flynn recalled his helmet, though D46 did not reveal his face in return, leaving his mask on. He didn't want to give anything away yet. He started pacing as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"Venjix sends a number of transport vehicles to the compounds to deliver goods and pick up completed units every three days at exactly noon." D46 informed him. "The last pickup was today. There are always six trucks. If you manage to take out the factory without destroying all the trucks, then you should be able to get most of the prisoners back."

"Thanks, my boss will be grateful to know that." Flynn replied. "If you want to round up the most vulnerable, I'll take them back to the city."

D46 made a hand gesture to two of the troops on the top of the cliff.

"Bring the children and the weakest casualties." D46 ordered them. "There are 15 spaces, let's make them count."

Flynn put his hands down as the few lucky refugees that had been chosen to return to Corinth with him made their way down a rocky path towards him. There were about six kids, varying between 8 and 13 years old. A couple of badly injured people were helped towards the Lion Hauler by soldiers. The last couple of spaces were filled by a couple of women, there to take care of the children. D46 had held him to his word and sent the 15 that were the least helpful to his cause, those that used provisions, but in return offered no practical support in combat. A few farewells were exchanged as the last of the supplies were unloaded, and the refugees got into the vehicle.

"We'll attack the complex in three days at midday." D46 stated. "If your weapons can do what you promise…"

"We'll live up to our end of the bargain." Flynn responded. "Just remember that we're allies. That includes Dillon…"

"We'll support you where we can." D46 told him. "But tell my 'brother' from me. Don't think this means I can trust you."

Flynn nodded in understanding, at least feeling a little better that he could help the few refugees D46 had allowed him to take, and that in three days, they could potentially free a lot more, and destroy the blueprints for the doomsday weapon Venjix was building.

As he got into the cab, he called up a monitor to check on his passengers.

"Alright folks, next stop, Corinth City." He announced as he turned the Lion Hauler around to head for home. In many ways, he had achieved all he could expect to. He had delivered their gift. Whether or not D46 would live up to their bargain, he would have to wait to find out. Right now though, he had bigger things to worry about. To make enough room in the back for the supplies, and the refugees, Dr. K had no alternative but to remove the energy generators that powered his weapons, meaning that he was unarmed. All he could hope was that the cloaking upgrade held up until he was back in the city.


	14. Carnival

Tenaya barely noticed as Dr. K examined every inch of her to assess her recovery. While Dr. K's examination was barely any gentler than the torture that had sent her to the infirmary in the first place, she wasn't concerned. When Dr. K had told her that there was a chance she would be allowed to leave to go to the carnival, the only thought that entered her mind was getting the chance to spend the day with Ziggy. She hadn't had a chance to see him other than the odd stolen moment when no one was looking since she had gotten back into the city.

"You have been fortunate. While your injuries will cause you discomfort, I can see no reason to suggest you are not strong enough to leave the infirmary." Dr. K said in a slightly cold manner. "I would recommend you do not over do things, but you appear to be alright. You may go."

"I can go?" Tenaya asked her excitedly as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, hardly able to contain her excitement. As Dr. K looked at her, she shrunk a little.

"I understand you feel some form of affection for the children at the orphanage like Ziggy." Dr. K replied quietly. "I'll call your brother to give you a ride to the plaza."

At that point, Flynn arrived back in the Lion Hauler, bringing it into the Garage. As it stopped, the back opened, and the refugees started to disembark.

"This is it folks, welcome to the City of Corinth." Flynn announced as he lifted the last little girl out of the back. He recalled the Zord, before de-morphing, carrying her a little.

"Hope!" Tenaya called out, seeing the little girl in his arms.

"Tenaya!" She yelled in response as Flynn put her down. She ran over to the woman she had released from D46's clutches a few days previously. Tenaya knelt down, scooping Hope up in her arms as the little girl threw herself into an enthusiastic hug. "You made it!"

"I did, thanks to you." Tenaya replied. "I got back a couple of days ago."

"Does it still hurt?" She asked, gesturing to some of the visible bruises and burns on Tenaya's arms.

"It's not as bad as it was." She replied. "So where's your mommy?"

"She's just over there." She replied, gesturing to a woman who was watching them nervously. She appeared to be uninjured, though she was carrying a first aid kit. Tenaya presumed that D46 had sent her to take care of the casualties he had sent to Corinth. Hope leant in whispering. "She doesn't know about what happened in the cave."

"Well I promise she won't learn from me." Tenaya whispered back, putting her down. Hope ran back to her mother, while Dr. K put in a call to the military to come and collect the refugees to be processed for re-housing.

"I see you accomplished your mission." Dr. K said to Flynn quietly as she ended the communication with Colonel Truman.

"He told me that there will be six transport vehicles brought into the complex three days from now." He told her. "They'll arrive at noon. He's planning to move in then. If we co-ordinate the attack with him, and ensure the vehicles aren't destroyed, we should be able to bring most of the refugees home. He's agreed to take care of anyone we can't fit into the transports or the Zords."

"I'll get working on modifying the Zords to maximise the transport capacity." Dr. K told him. "Taking the power reactors for your blasters out of the Lion Hauler worked this time, but if we're going to take out that factory, you'll need all the help you can get."

"Well while you sort that out, if you don't mind, I think I'll join Tenaya at the carnival." Flynn responded. "Sam will be wondering where I am."

"Did you say carnival?" Hope screamed, her eyes growing wide with excitement. "There's a carnival?"

"Honey, we need to go with the military." Her mother told her. "We need..."

"There will be several members of the military at the event." Dr. K interrupted her, looking at the kids, positively bouncing at the thought of getting to see something like this. Given the fact that they had been living outside the dome since the attacks, it was understandable how excited they would be at the thought of getting to attend something like this. "They will be cared for."

"Can we go, please mom?" Hope asked her. Her mother looked around at all the wide, hopeful eyes looking up at her from the half-dozen children in her care. She was reluctant, but she could understand their desire to go.

"Alright, but you stay at the carnival, and you go with the Blue Ranger to be returned to me the moment the carnival is over. Is that clear?"

The kids all cheered and rushed Flynn, grabbing his legs tightly, almost causing him to fall over. He could only laugh at their enthusiasm.

"I'll just make another call to the others." Flynn told them. "I think we'll need Ziggy and the minibus to get all this lot to the carnival."

Meanwhile, over in the city plaza, the stalls had been set up by the time the minibus arrived with the kids from the orphanage. Summer was keeping them entertained in the back, singing songs as they made their way into the square. Fences kept the rest of the citizens out before opening time, and ticket vendors were already preparing for a busy day ahead, but since Ziggy was instrumental in getting the day arranged, he had convinced the guards to let the kids in a little early.

Gem, Gemma and Scott were helping a few volunteers put the finishing touches to the decorations, stringing brightly coloured banners and strings of flags across the lanes between all the stands. Seeing all the glowing, gleeful faces pressed up to the windows of the bus, the Twins smiled and waved to them, eliciting excited chatter and screams from them. Ziggy parked up, opening the doors for them.

"Here we are kids, have fun!" Ziggy called out as the kids cheered. Ms. Foster struggled to get up as she cradled an infant, the latest child in her care, in her arms. Unfortunately the recent battles caused by Gates had taken their toll on the city.

"I'll just help you with her." Summer told her, taking the little bundle gently from Ms. Foster's hands, allowing her to get up. Ms. Foster saw a slightly dreamy look in Summer's eyes as she looked down on the little girl, sleeping in her arms.

"You didn't even wake her." Ms. Foster complimented her. "You have a real way with kids."

"I never had any brothers or sisters." Summer whispered, unable to take her eyes off the little girl as she breathed gently. "There were never any babies in the family. I guess always kind of felt like I missed out on something by not getting to watch any kids growing up."

"Well I can tell you're a natural." Ms. Foster complimented her. Summer was about to hand the baby back to her, but the matron just held up a hand. "I'll let you have a little more fun with her first."

"What's her name?" Summer asked.

"Alice." Ms. Foster replied as they got out of the bus. Summer was so busy looking at the baby she never even noticed Dillon coming over to her.

He stopped short as he saw the image before him. Something struck him about seeing Summer holding Alice.

He felt something deep in his heart as he saw the look on her face. The smile on her face was intoxicating, and her eyes shone brightly with the kind of joy that spoke volumes.

"Is there something you should be telling me?" Dillon asked her. "I thought this process took a lot longer."

"Don't be an idiot." She giggled, handing the baby back to Ms. Foster. "It's one of the kids in Ms. Foster's care. She just let me hold it for a while."

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself." He told her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She reached up over her shoulder, stroking his face as she continued to look at the baby. Ms. Foster was heading through the carnival with the kids to get their bearings, though by now Brie had arrived and had rushed over to get a look at the baby. Ms. Foster was only too happy to let her hold Alice. Given the fact she was pregnant, it was only natural that Brie would want to see her.

"I always loved the idea of having kids." She told him. "It was one of the few parts of mom and dad's plan to marry me off that I didn't mind. I've always wanted to have kids."

Dillon felt a sense of trepidation as he heard this. There was so much he wasn't sure of in his life. Most of it was still a complete mystery to him. All he really knew for certain was that Tenaya was his sister, and at some point they had both been taken to that warehouse in Omega City along with 48 others, where they had been made into what they were now.

Looking at the children, he didn't have the same warm feelings the others did. He had never really given much thought to having a family. He never felt the same emotions towards children that people normally did. To him, they were just small people.

"Guys, I just got a call from Dr. K." Ziggy rushed out, interrupting his thoughts. "She wants me to take the minibus to the Garage. She said that Flynn and Tenaya are bringing another couple of kids to the carnival, but I still have a lot of work to do to set up for my magic show."

"It's alright Ziggy, I'll go." Dillon told him, a little thankful for the opportunity to take some time to collect his thoughts. "You can stay and set up."

He took the keys from Ziggy, before getting into the cab and driving away. Ziggy got a goofy little grin on his face as he left. Summer saw this and came over to him.

"It looks like you have a glamorous assistant for your magic show." She teased him, nudging him gently.

"I'm really glad she's able to come." He replied.

"Of course, this does mean she's left the infirmary." Summer reminded him. "You know what that means."

"I know, I guess I'm just not looking forward to telling him." Ziggy answered. "Maybe if I tell him after the Carnival he'll be in a good mood and it'll not be so bad."

Chas arrived at that point, making his way into the square. He smiled as he saw Brie holding Alice, as she talked with Ms. Foster. He came over to her, kissing her cheek as he arrived.

"You have no idea how good it felt to see that." He told her, putting his arm around her.

"Well it won't be that long before it's our turn." She reminded him as she handed back the baby. She suddenly got a concerned look on her face. "I thought you went to see the doctor. Are you feeling alright? You look awful."

"I think I'm just coming down with something." He told her, waving off her concern. "He said it's nothing serious."

"Nothing serious my ass, you look like death warmed up!" She snapped in response. "What happened? What did he say?"

"He said everything's fine." He assured her. "You know as well as I do that this campaign's taken a little out of me. I've probably just overdone it a little. Once I make it through the game tomorrow I'll be fine. I'll be able to relax a little and concentrate on boring things like interviews and press conferences."

"Here, take some of this." Summer told him, handing him a cup of coffee. Chas took it, but dropped it soon afterwards, unable to hold it. Brie held him closely.

"Chas, what's wrong with you?" She asked again. He looked up, and gestured to the other side of the square, where the Rockets had arrived. They were wearing their armour, all except for their helmets so their faces could be seen. They had also been invited to the event to drum up publicity.

"Hey Chas, how's the kid?" The captain yelled over. He was almost seven feet tall, and heavily muscular. He had chiselled, handsome features and flowing ash blonde hair which reached almost to his shoulders. Eric "Ace" Ryker as he was known was not just the leading scorer in the league, but he also had more than a little bit of a reputation off the court as well.

His good looks had secured him many modelling contracts, ranging from sunglasses and aftershave through to underwear, meaning that he actually earned more money out of the Lightningball courts than he did on them. He was also well-known in the tabloids for his reputation as a womaniser and a party animal. He was just one of many that it had been claimed was the father of Brie's baby.

"Hey, remember that party we went to a few months ago?" He asked Brie. "I wouldn't be surprised if you don't. You were pretty wrecked by the time it broke up."

"Shut up Ryker!" She spat in her disgust at the implication. A few months ago she had gone to her Alumni reunion, and she had indeed gotten more than a little more drunk than she really should have, but she knew that she hadn't done anything with him. Ryker had attended the same High School, and so had been at the same party. He was obviously trying to stir up trouble.

"You know the newspapers make interesting reading Winchester." He taunted Chas. "Maybe I should take their advice and seek a paternity test. Someone with my money can't be too careful. It wouldn't be the first time..."

"Shut it Ryker!" Chas roared, bringing himself as much to his full height as he could. Brie and Summer held him, but could feel his muscles straining as he tried to stop himself from attacking the massive player.

"The autograph booth's over there." Summer warned him. "Just go before there's any trouble."

"Oh, there's going to be trouble alright." Ryker told her. "It'll just be on the court. Take care Brie, wouldn't want anything happening to the little bundle of joy."

"Go to hell Ryker!" She snarled, turning from him. He handed her the newspaper and walked away, leaving the three of them alone as the team took their place by the autograph booth. Summer read the headline sympathetically.

"Chas, he's just trying to mess with you before the match. You know this is a load of bull." She reminded him. She and Brie took him to a bench where he took a seat. "I'll get you another coffee."

"Thanks." He replied. Brie just held him warmly.

"Don't listen to that creep; he's just trying to get a rise out of you." Brie assured him. "I never looked twice at him."

"I know that Brie." He told her, feeling his heart racing as he tried to calm down. "I really just hate anyone talking about you like that."

"You said it yourself, it's unlikely to be the last time we'll hear anything like this." She told him. "Hey, why don't you just rest up here, while I go and get us a couple of hot dogs, then after this place opens and you do the speech, we can concentrate on having a little fun?"

"That sounds good honey." He replied, kissing her. "I love you."

As she left though, he got a slight look of concern on his face as he looked down on his hands. He hadn't dropped the coffee because he had seen Ryker. He just couldn't hold it. He didn't know why, but for some reason he just couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

Back at the Garage, the adults had been picked up by the military and taken to the base to be processed and to have any injuries and illnesses checked out. The kids meanwhile, were busy bouncing around the main room in their excitement. Dr. K came back into the room, dragging a little boy about eight years old by the arm.

"Flynn, I've asked you already to keep these little monsters out of my lab." She groaned, handing him back to the Blue Ranger to rejoin his friends. "How do they keep getting in there?"

"Oh come on Dr. K lighten up." He told her. "You were that age too not so long ago."

"When I was that age I had spent almost four years locked indoors with no access to the outside world and had already forgotten my real name." She reminded him. "Please just try to keep them out of the lab."

"She doesn't like kids does she?" The boy asked him. Flynn knelt down to his level and smiled.

"The doc's a little different." He assured him. "She just doesn't understand you, that's all. Anyway, let's get back to the fun."

Just then, the minibus arrived, causing all the kids to cheer as Dillon disembarked.

"Where'd all these kids come from?" He asked them.

"It's a long story man, I'll explain on the way." Flynn assured him. "Come on kids, the carnival's going to start soon. We wouldn't want to be late."

"Hey, you're cute." Hope commented as she wandered over to Dillon, tugging his trouser leg. He was unsure how to react to kids, he wasn't entirely comfortable. He just looked down at her and gestured into the bus. "Tenaya, he's really cute. Is this your boyfriend Ziggy?"

Dillon stopped in his tracks as he heard this, turning back to them. He could see an alarmed look on Tenaya's face. He knelt down to the little girl's level, his fists clenching.

"Excuse me, could you just say that one more time?" He asked.


	15. A Wolf A Shark and a Baby Sister

Flynn was driving the minibus back to the carnival a short time later. The kids were gaping in awe out of the windows, still completely blown away by the spectacle of the glittering glass and steel metropolis that was Corinth city, hardly able to believe that somewhere like this could possibly exist. They had all been living in the caves and cliffs outside the city since the attacks. It seemed impossible to believe that anywhere could still be in such good repair.

Dillon was sitting silently in the back, wringing his hands tightly, his jaw clenched. He hadn't said a word since Hope had mistaken him for Ziggy and blurted out the fact that he and Tenaya had been in a relationship behind his back. Anger boiled within him. While he liked Ziggy, and considered him in many ways to be his best friend, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Green Ranger had betrayed him.

"Dillon, please say something." Tenaya begged him, laying a hand on his arm gently.

"I'm going to kill him." Dillon muttered.

"Okay, not exactly what I meant." Tenaya replied nervously. "We were going to tell you."

"I'll bet you were." He grumbled. "When were you going to do that exactly? After I'd walked in on you..."

"We just wanted to wait until we could tell you together." Tenaya interrupted him. "We knew you would be surprised, we just wanted to find a way to break it to you gently."

"Tell me in a way that you'd be there to protect him you mean." Dillon replied coldly.

"Dillon, why are you being like this?" She asked him.

"I'm your brother!" He reminded her.

"You only found out you were my brother a little over a week ago!" She snapped back. She looked around to make sure the kids hadn't heard her, but right now they seemed to be too busy looking out the windows of the bus. "It's not like you've been that protective of me. Ziggy's the one that's been taking care of me until..."

"Now I know why!" Dillon snarled. "He just wanted..."

"Dillon..."

"I don't want to hear it Tenaya!" He cut her off. "I'm going to do this!"

Tenaya just shook her head in a defeated manner and made her way to another seat, slumping down into it and buried her face in her hands. Hope came over to her and gently poked her, rousing her attention.

"Did I do something bad?" She asked her, noting that Tenaya seemed to be upset about something.

"No, you weren't to know that wasn't Ziggy." Tenaya replied, patting the seat next to her. Hope jumped up onto the seat next to her. "He's just my older brother."

"Oh!" Hope replied nervously, realising her mistake. "He didn't know did he?"

"Well he does now." Tenaya replied, holding the little girl closely. "I just wish there was some way I could warn Ziggy."

Back at the carnival, the gates had opened, Chas had made his opening speech, and the carnival was now underway. Chas made his way through the crowds, checking that everyone was having a good time.

"This is great; I can't believe everything worked out so well." He told Ziggy as he approached the stage where the Green Ranger was preparing for his magic show.

"Everyone's having a great time. Everyone's really digging deep." He replied, looking out over the crowd as they played games, got their faces painted, and bought food. "The kids really love it."

"Well the twins are a big hit with the kids." Chas commented, pointing over to where Gem and Gemma were having a whale of a time playing with the kids from the orphanage.

"I thought the kids would like them." Ziggy laughed. "They have kind of...a kinship. I knew they'd get along."

"So are you ready to start the show?" Chas asked him. Ziggy nodded in response.

"All my props are set." He replied. "I was just waiting."

"What for?" Chas asked him. Ziggy paused for a second as the minibus arrived.

"There were a couple of other people I wanted here before I started the show." Ziggy informed him. "I just need to go and get my cape. Just relax and watch the show."

Tenaya rushed over to the stage as quickly as she could and leapt up onto it. Ziggy smiled as he saw her.

"I'm so glad you could make it." He rushed out before she could say anything. "Isn't all this great?"

"Ziggy..."

"The kids are having a great time..."

"Ziggy..."

"We're raking in money! Everyone's really digging deep..."

"Ziggy..."

"Hey the show's about to start. Some of my tricks require a volunteer, would you like to help?" He asked her. "

"Ziggy!" She yelled. It was only then that he noticed the panicked tone in her voice, and the look in her eyes. "Ziggy listen to me, something happened at the Garage. Dillon knows about us."

"What?" He asked her as the words sunk in.

"Ziggy, he knows." She replied. "Please just..."

Her words were cut off as Dillon arrived behind her, pulling her aside. He stood over his friend, bearing down on him. Ziggy felt his chest tighten as he looked up at Dillon nervously. Part of him wanted to run, but his feet betrayed him.

"I can help you with your act." Dillon said coldly, staring straight through him angrily. "You need an assistant for your act right? I'll help you. Then afterwards, we can have a little chat."

"Uh...sure, thanks." He stammered in response, looking at Tenaya, hoping for some way to be saved from this situation. Right at that moment, he wished he really could disappear.

Meanwhile, Chas was walking through the crowds, looking around at the people, making sure everything was running smoothly. He blinked a little as the lights started to affect him. For some reason he was getting a little spacey. The noise of the crowd, started to become distorted in his ears, into an unintelligible din.

He looked around, hoping to find somewhere to take a seat, when he saw the Rockets had left the autograph booth, and were now wandering around among the crowd, signing autographs and having pictures taken. Just behind Ryker though, he saw a couple of women huddled around a newspaper. He could see them pointing and laughing, and his muscles tensed.

Despite everything he was doing for the people of Corinth, despite putting together the carnival, and the game the following day, many of them were still more interested in the unsubstantiated rumours that the baby his fiancée was carrying was not his.

He spun around, seeing more and more people with newspapers, all looking over between himself, Brie and Ryker, and could almost swear he heard every venomous whisper. He clamped his hands tightly over his ears as his brain was assaulted on all sides by laughter, taunting him. It was all he could hear. Brie came to his side as she saw the pained look on his face.

"Chas, what's wrong?" She asked him, cradling him gently.

"They're all laughing at me." He whispered. "Can't you hear it? They're all laughing at me!"

"Chas, what are you talking about?" She asked him, looking around.

"All of them!" He called out, flailing his arms wildly. He was already beginning to attract some attention. "They're all laughing at us! They're all talking behind our backs!"

"Chas, they're laughing because they're having a good time." Brie told him. "What's wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?"

"I know I'm having a good time." Ryker chipped in as he came over, grabbing Brie by the arm and pulling her away from Chas. "It's just like old times isn't it?"

"In your dreams slimeball!" She screamed, trying to pull out of his grip.

"You know there's no reason the fun has to end when the carnival packs up." He said as he raised his eyebrows, taunting Chas. "Maybe we can go somewhere and..."

Chas by this time had heard more than enough, and he saw red. Something inside him just snapped, and before he knew what was happening, He had grabbed Ryker into a double-leg pickup and smashed him to the ground, before grabbing his hair and starting to rain right fists down on him aggressively. Ryker covered his face as much as he could while Chas started hammering into him.

"Ryker!" One of his team mates called, rushing forward, driving a hard knee into Chas' face and knocking him off their captain. Ryker leapt back to the attack, hooking him into a leg lock, cinching his leg tightly while he hammered into his injured thigh with his elbow. Chas screamed in pain as he tried to break free, throwing fists wherever he could land them, but having no effect.

"Break it up!" Ziggy yelled as he charged off the stage, playing cards from his latest conjuring trick scattering in all directions as he joined the scuffle. Dillon quickly joined him, pulling Ryker off Chas. The Rockets quickly backed off as the other Rangers came into view.

"So much for this being a friendly match," Ryker laughed as he straightened himself out. The soldiers had arrived to break up the commotion, and the Rockets were in no hurry to risk anything else happening. "We'll see you at the stadium tomorrow Winchester!"

They turned and left the Carnival, laughing and joking as they went. Chas continued to writhe in pain on the ground.

"Chas, what the hell were you thinking?" Brie yelled at him, checking over him. "You know he was just baiting you."

"I couldn't take it anymore." He replied. "I just couldn't listen to him saying those things about you."

"I think we should get him out of here." Summer chipped in, looking around at the crowd that was forming. "We don't need to attract any more attention to ourselves."

"Just get me to the doctor's office." Chas instructed them as he was helped to his feet, and helped to walk away.

"Chas, you can't possibly be thinking of competing in that game tomorrow." Brie questioned him. "You can hardly walk!"

"I'll be fine, I promise." He assured her. "Besides, I've already agreed to it. I can't back out now; too many people are counting on me."

"But Chas..."

"Just get me to the doctor's office." He interrupted her. "I'll be fine."

As Chas was led away, Flynn held up his hands.

"OK folks, the show's over!" He called out. "Everyone just get back to the fair. There's still plenty of time before it ends."

The citizens started to slowly file away from the scene of the fight, and while the mood had noticeably changed, the stall owners were more than happy to keep going.

"Are you sure that was a great idea?" Scott asked him.

"There's no reason to let the whole day be a washout." Flynn replied. "People came here to have fun. Let's make the best of it."

As the people dispersed, Gem and Gemma led the kids away to play some more games. Ziggy looked up at Dillon a little nervously.

"Thanks for that." Ziggy finally managed to say. "Chas was really in trouble."

"I just wanted some dessert." He replied. Ziggy laughed a little as he finally got the significance of what he had said. He had made the same excuse after saving Ziggy from the other inmates when they were in prison together. It was kind of his way of saying that he couldn't just stand back and watch someone being hurt like that.

"Look, Dillon. This thing between me and Tenaya..."

"Ziggy, what the hell did you think you were doing?" He asked him. "She's my sister!"

"None of us knew that when she came to us." Ziggy reminded him. "It wouldn't have made a difference though."

"You're going to have to repeat that." Dillon said coldly. "I'd suggest you do so before I tear your head off."

"I haven't been taking advantage of her." Ziggy told him. "It's been happening for a while. I've seen a lot in her that I really like, even before she came to us. I could see the good in her, even when we were fighting against her."

"Ziggy, she was our prisoner." He reminded him. "For the first couple of days she was quadriplegic. She was in a wheelchair for weeks."

"I cared for her all that time." Ziggy told him. "Over that time, I saw so much in her that I liked. I found out that we had a lot in common."

"She was here as our prisoner." Dillon repeated. "What did you do? Hit on her while she was chained to a chair?"

"Ziggy would never do that, and you know it!" Tenaya roared as she interjected herself into the argument. "He never did anything that I didn't invite. He never did anything when I wasn't able to refuse."

"So he just manipulated you?" Dillon asked her. Tenaya slapped him hard.

"You have no right to say anything like that about him!" She snarled. "We both started to have feelings for each other. We love each other."

"Tenaya..."

"Dillon for the love of God, stop the whole psycho big brother crap!" She interrupted him. "You only found out you were my brother a bit over a week ago! I was doing just fine without you!"

"Yeah, you were doing just fine." He said sarcastically. "You just spent months as Venjix's slave, you managed to get yourself almost killed by it more than once and...Oh yeah...you also managed to get kidnapped and tortured by another infiltration unit that was intent on killing you until I..."

"We!" Ziggy corrected him. "We saved her."

"Dillon, we know hardly anything about each other anymore." She told him frankly. "From the few memories we do have, I can tell we were close once. I can feel that, I know I trusted you implicitly..."

"And I took care of you." He interrupted her. "I looked after you."

"So what the hell have I been doing?" Ziggy snapped, suddenly finding a confidence he never usually had in Dillon's presence. "You never gave a damn about Tenaya all that time she was in Dr. K's lab. You never even looked at her!"

"Careful Ziggy..."

"What are you going to do? Beat me up? I don't care!" He continued to rant. "You only cared once Dr. K told you who she was. You know what you did? You shoved me aside! It was like nothing I did for her mattered to you. You didn't care how I felt about her. You never even asked if I wanted to step aside. Hell, you never once even said thank you!"

Dillon stopped as he heard this. He had to admit that this was true. Ziggy had done everything for her.

"Ziggy was the first one to see any good in me. He was the one that made me choose to turn from Venjix. He was the one that trusted the good in me so much that he put the orphanage, the only family he has at risk!" She told him. As Dillon slumped onto a bench, Tenaya sat next to him and put her arm around him, holding him warmly. "I love knowing that I have a family, and while it is a little awkward, I love getting to know you but you have to accept that I'm not a kid. I'm not a helpless little girl that needs her brother to fight her battles for her. I have my own life and I can make my own decisions."

"I'm sorry; I just don't know how to take this." He told her. "When I look at you, the only memory I have is taking care of you. I just can't get that out of my head."

"We're still trying to figure out where we stand as siblings." She reminded him. "In the meantime, you have to trust my judgement. If nothing else, this is Ziggy we're talking about. He's your best friend. Do you really think he'd do anything to hurt me?"

Dillon looked at Ziggy, having finally felt the aggression passing, and could at last look at him logically. She was right about that much, Ziggy was his best friend. He had been the first one to trust Dillon and accept him completely. He was the kindest and most honourable person he knew. As much as he hated the thought of his sister being taken advantage of, in the cold light of day, it didn't sound like something Ziggy would do. He would never do anything to hurt anyone intentionally, least of all someone he loved. He stood up and looked at Ziggy. Tenaya was about to get between them, but Ziggy gestured to her to stay out of it. He knew Dillon had something to say.

"I guess I'd have had a hard time accepting anyone with her. At least it's you and not some creep." He told him. "I just have a couple of ground rules."

As Tenaya shifted in her seat, Ziggy again gestured to her to stay out of it.

"First, you take care of her. If you break her heart, I'll break your legs." Dillon stated.

"You don't have to worry; I would never do anything to hurt her." Ziggy replied gently.

"Second. While I can just about accept this, it's still messing up my head. For the sake of my sanity, spare me the details alright?" He asked them. "I really don't need to hear it."

"That's a deal." Ziggy replied. He opened his arms for a hug, but Dillon just extended a hand for a handshake. Ziggy figured this was the best he was going to get under the circumstances and accepted it.

"Treat her well." Dillon told him. At that, Tenaya could no longer contain herself and threw herself into his arms, kissing her boyfriend enthusiastically. Dillon just shook his head and walked away, muttering to himself.

"I hope I don't live to regret this." He mumbled as he left. As Tenaya finally released him, Ziggy smiled at her.

"I have a surprise for you." He told her. He pulled a small key out of his pocket. "Dr. K and I have been talking and we think you've proven you can be trusted."

"You mean..."

Ziggy took her hand, lifting up her wrist, and unlocked the restraining bracelet, removing it from her wrist. Tenaya smiled at him.

"I trust you." He told her, putting it away. "Now, do you want to do that again?"

Tenaya pulled him into a long, passionate kiss that made the rest of the world disappear. It was only interrupted as Ziggy parted from her, yelping in pain. His eyes were wide.

"Another wedgie?" He asked her.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." She told him. "Anyway, how about we go and do the rest of that magic show. I promise I'll let you saw me in half."

Ziggy laughed and wrapped his arm around her as they made their way back to the stage. He couldn't help being happy about the way things had gone down. Now they no longer had to hide how they felt about each other. The others would likely be surprised, but they had already crossed the biggest hurdle. Now that Dillon knew and had accepted it, they had each other to rely on as they faced the others.


	16. The Night Before the Game

The rest of the carnival went by without incident following the fight between Chas and Ryker. Dillon was a little quiet, and occasionally cast a little look over to where Tenaya and Ziggy were talking after the magic show, but for the most part just gave them their space.

Summer, Gem and Gemma helped Ms. Foster to round up the last of the kids and get them back onto the minibus as the vendors started to pack away their wares and dismantle their stalls, waving to them as Flynn drove the bus from the square.

"The kids really..."

"...loved this..."

"...they were great."

"They really enjoyed themselves. I'm sure they'll sleep tonight." Summer commented, thinking about the day she had spent entertaining them. "Once Flynn takes the refugee kids to the military base and the rest back to the orphanage, we can go for a bite. I'm sure Ziggy's going to want to rest up for the game tomorrow."

"Speaking of Ziggy..."

"...he and Tenaya have been talking..."

"...for ages..."

"...what do you think they're talking about?"

Summer noticed that they were right, and more than that, they were talking in full view of Dillon, who was currently helping a stall owner break down his stall. They appeared to be holding each other closely, and she knew that Dillon had to have noticed. She smiled as she realised that they had to have told him about their relationship. She came over to him, handing him a claw hammer.

"Most people use this." She told him.

"Most people don't have mechanically enhanced strength." He reminded her, prying apart two pieces of wood with his bare hands. "You looked like you were having fun with the kids."

"They're great." She responded with a childish grin. "I can really see why Ziggy loves them so much. They had a great time."

"I'm not sure I have the patience for them." He replied, packing a few things away. "I can understand why they identify with Ziggy and the wonder twins so much, but they just have a little too much...enthusiasm."

"Oh come on, you don't find them even a little cute?" Summer asked him, stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Even your sister was affected by them, and her conditioning was a lot deeper than yours."

"Maybe I never liked kids before the conditioning." He suggested. "I don't know, they just seem to take a lot of time and energy and patience..."

"So you never think about what it would be like to have a little Dillon junior running around?" She asked him. "You know, take him to the park to play catch, go fishing..."

"I don't fish." He stated flatly. "Plus you also forget the discipline, the sleepless nights, the..."

"Dillon, you don't need to worry, I'm not talking about having a family." She laughed, kissing him quickly on the lips with a small laugh. "Well, not seriously anyway. We've dedicated ourselves to destroying Venjix. Until that's dealt with at least, it's not like we could go ahead and plan maternity leave..."

"So is that what I am to you?" Dillon snapped, shoving her away a little roughly. "I'm some kind of barnyard animal?"

"Dillon, you know that's not true." She gasped, a little hurt by his reaction. "What's gotten into you?"

"Don't you think this is something we should discuss in private?" He asked her. "How do you know I even want kids?"

"Look, just calm down." She implored him. "We're all a little tired. Maybe I shouldn't have teased you about this, but I wasn't..."

"I just found out Ziggy hooked up with my sister." He interrupted her. "My head's a little screwy at the moment. I don't really know what's happening."

"I kind of figured they'd told you." Summer replied, putting her arm around him. "Look, I know it threw you for a loop finding out who Tenaya is. It was always bound to, and you're always going to feel protective of her. You have to hate any boy she ends up with as a matter of policy, but this is Ziggy we're talking about. He's your best friend. You know he won't do anything to hurt her."

"This is just the perfect end to a perfect day." He sighed, turning to face her. He shrugged off her arm sharply. "Not only do I find out my best friend went behind my back, I find out my girlfriend did too."

"Dillon..."

"Save it Summer!" He snapped, getting up and swiping her hand away as she reached out for him. "I thought relationships were about trust, about honesty!"

"Dillon, I never lied to you!" She stated, getting up to try and reason with him. "When I found out, I told Ziggy he had to tell you what was going on. You had a right to know, but Ziggy had a right to the chance to tell you himself."

"I found out from one of the kids!" Dillon roared at her, causing a few people to look around at them, seeing the disturbance. "Ziggy only told me because I didn't give him a choice in the matter."

"Dillon please, let's not do this here." She begged him. "People are staring, let's just get back to the Garage and we can discuss this."

"So how long were you going to let this happen?" He asked her. "What if I hadn't found out? What if Ziggy hadn't told me? Would you have continued to keep quiet for him?"

"Dillon, that isn't fair." She replied.

"You said you love me, but you can't even be honest with me." He told her, shaking his head in a defeated manner. "How can I trust you?"

"Dillon..."

She didn't get a chance to continue though. He just turned his back on her and left quickly without another word. Scott came to her side and put his arm around her.

"What was that all about?" He asked her.

"I'll explain later." She said sadly, turning from him so he couldn't see her tears. "We should help clear the rest of this away."

Flynn dropped Ms. Foster and the rest of the kids at the orphanage, before driving the minibus back to the yard. Sam had gone with him to get some all too rare, and much needed time alone with him.

"This was a great day." She told him. "I still can't believe you went into the wastes and didn't tell me."

"I didn't want you to worry." He told her. "I was taking the Lion Hauler, it wasn't like much was going to happen."

"You went to negotiate with a man that attacked Tenaya twice!" She reminded him. "And he's expressed the opinion that he wants to take out Dillon too."

"Look, the situation isn't ideal, but we need someone on the outside who can provide a safe haven for all the refugees we can't get back to the city." Flynn reminded her. "If there was another choice, we'd take it, but so far his band of guerrillas is the only colony of free humans we know are still alive outside the dome."

"You went out there alone." Sam reminded him. "You know what D46 is capable of."

"You know what I'm capable of." Flynn reminded her. "I'm not exactly helpless."

"So you delivered supplies to them?" Sam asked him.

"I did." Flynn answered. "They're going to need them if they're to hold out. There's only so long home-made ammunition and explosives are going to stand up to Venjix tech, especially if he sends something more impressive than Grinders after them. Besides, we needed to offer them something to get them to listen."

"I just really wish there was another way." Sam replied, looking into his eyes. "Just do me a favour and promise me you won't turn your back on him. He can't be trusted."

"I promise I'll keep an eye on him." Flynn replied, cradling her chin with his hand. He pulled her into a long, soft kiss. "So, are you going to come to the game tomorrow?"

"What's not to like about watching a bunch of big, good looking and muscular men beating the hell out of each other?" She asked him. "I'll be there cheering Ziggy on with the rest of you."

"I'll look forward to seeing you there." Flynn replied. "Come on, I'll take you home."

Back at their apartment, Brie helped Chas to the bedroom. After being checked out by the doctor, he had been sent home to rest up before the game. He sat on the bed, grunting a little in pain as he sank into the cushions.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"I'll be fine." He told her as he undressed himself slowly. He reached into the pocket of his trousers, pulling out a small box, and opened it, taking out a needle.

"Another injection?" Brie asked him.

"The doctor told me to take one just before I go to bed, and one just before the game." He informed her. "It'll help..."

"Chas, I'm getting a little worried about this." She said honestly as he stuck the needle into his thigh and injected himself with painkillers. "Are you sure you're up to this game? You know Ryker's got a reputation for cheap shots. You saw how he went after your leg."

"I can't pull out now, there's no way I can get anyone to substitute for me before the game." He snapped, beginning to get a little irritated by her constant complaining. It seemed like across the last few days she did nothing but whine about the fact he was hurt. It wasn't as if he had much option but to go through with the game, and she knew how important it was to his campaign.

"Why are you being like this?" She asked him. "I love you, I just don't want to see you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine Brie." He sighed as he realised his temper was beginning to get the better of him. Brie was the last person he'd ever want to snap at or mistreat. "I guess I'm just a little irritable after the fight."

Brie didn't say anything as he mentioned this. She knew he cared about her, and that he hated it when anyone said things about her, but he was never usually like that. Normally he managed to keep his behaviour in check. Living among the judgemental and evil-tongued aristocracy his whole life, he was used to the barbs and insults people slipped into conversation. Usually his duels would normally be fought with subtle veiled insults, slipped under the rest of the conversation. Insults that were obvious enough that anyone listening would be under no false impressions that honour and face were at stake, but low-key enough to make escalation into common violence a cause for ridicule, and leave the perpetrator a pariah. It was an art form he had perfected by his early teens.

However, Chas had seemingly just lost his senses when he attacked Ryker for his outburst. He had heard far greater insults and not responded like that. She knew that the pressure of the campaign was getting to him, but lately he almost didn't seem like himself. She wanted to talk to him, but lately his temper seemed to be on a hair trigger. He had snapped at her a few times now, she knew it was unlikely he would talk to her in his current mood. If he didn't bite her head off, he'd probably give her the silent treatment.

"Try to get some rest." She told him, getting under the covers. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Back at the Garage, Dillon arrived back to find everyone other than Summer had already gone to bed. He had left the plaza after their fight to go for a drive and clear his head. He had seen and taken in a lot that day. Not only had he just found out about Ziggy and Tenaya, he had also found out that Summer knew about it and hadn't told him.

Getting out the car, he rolled his eyes as he saw her sitting there waiting for her. She hadn't bothered to fix her mascara, and so it was obvious she had been crying earlier. She stood up, and made her way over to him purposefully, refusing to back down to his mood swings.

"Is this round 2?" He asked her sarcastically.

"I wasn't even aware we were fighting." She remarked. "Dillon, I only found out about Ziggy and Tenaya myself a short time ago. I only wanted to give him the chance to tell you himself."

"What difference would that have made?" He asked her coldly. Summer just threw her arms open widely as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Because I knew you'd react like this!" She screeched in response. "I love you Dillon, but you have to admit that you don't really handle your emotions that well. I thought if Ziggy got a chance to explain to you then at least you might hear him out instead of just pounding him."

"So you valued your friendship with him over me." He said angrily, making his way to the fridge and grabbing himself a beer. "I guess I can understand that. I mean it's not as if I'm that important, I'm only your boyfriend!"

"Not for much longer if you keep this up!" She warned him. "I didn't value Ziggy over you, I just knew that you'd end up hating yourself for hurting him if anything happened between you. I did it for you."

"OH, so I should be grateful to you for stabbing me in the back. You did it for me!" He said sarcastically. "Thank you so much. Seeing as it's already in there, maybe you might want t twist it a little for good measure."

"I'm not talking to you while you're like this." She replied as her tears started again. "We're both going to say something we'll regret. We'll talk about this in the morning when we've both calmed down."

"That's right just walk away! That's your style isn't it?" He called after her. "It's a bit ironic since you were the one that said I can't handle my emotions."

"I think this just shows I have a point." Summer whispered in response.

"If I'm the one that can't handle his emotions, then how come you're the one that's been spending months in therapy?" He shot back. Summer turned towards him, the hurt obvious in her eyes as she made her way towards him. It was a low blow and he knew it. Summer roared loudly as she punched him as hard as she could in the face, sending him to the floor, cradling his cheekbone.

She tried to say something, but it just wouldn't come out. Her breath couldn't fom into words because of the anger and pain she felt at his words. She just turned and left the room, leaving Dillon on the floor. He pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the counter, grabbing some ice and holding it to his cheek.

"Would you mind telling me what that was about?" Flynn asked him as he arrived in the Garage, having dropped Sam off at home. Dillon looked to him, then turned back to his beer.

"What's it to you?" Dillon asked abruptly.

"Well, if I were you I'd be glad the bedroom doors are soundproof, because I heard you both outside." He informed the Black Ranger.

"Outside?" Dillon asked him.

"I think there might be a couple of people that are hard of hearing on the other side of the dome that didn't hear you, but I wouldn't put money on it." Flynn replied sarcastically. "So what's this about? You're sore because Summer didn't tell you about Ziggy and Tenaya?"

"You knew too?" Dillon asked him.

"Aye, I did." Flynn responded. "Are you going to start a fight with me now? If so, that's fine with me. The state you left that lass in, I should tear your head off."

"I don't want to fight you Flynn." He responded.

"But you did want to fight Summer?" He asked him. "Why?"

"She should have told me…"

"I never told you either!" Flynn interrupted him. "Given the fact you're acting like a petulant brat can you blame us?"

"What do you want me to say?" He snapped.

"I want you to tell me what this is really about." Flynn yelled back. "The poor lass was in pieces when she left the room. She doesn't deserve this. You're about to lose her…"

"Good, she'll thank me!" Dillon replied. Flynn just looked puzzled as he said this.

"You wanted to fight with her?" He asked him.

"She's better off without me." Dillon sighed, taking a seat. "She needs to be with someone that can give her what se wants."

"OK, now you have me completely lost." Flynn commented. "We're not talking about Ziggy and Tenaya anymore are we?"

"You should have seen her today Flynn, the way she looked at those kids, the way she smiled when she was playing with them. I've never seen her like that." He told him.

"I have to admit they are kind of adorable." Flynn commented.

"I saw her holding the baby. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen." He told him. "The way she held it, the look in her eyes when she looked at it, I remember every detail."

"Is that what this is?" Flynn asked him. "You're worried she'll want kids?"

"Yes, but not for the reason you think." Dillon told him. "I'm not sure how many of my…functions…are still biological."

He looked at him, tears already beginning to form in his eyes.

"It's obvious it's important to her to have a family some day." Dillon continued. "I just don't know if that's something I can ever offer her."


	17. The PreMatch Preparations

Flynn sat with Dillon in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity after what he had said. Dillon was never exactly the most open of people about what was worrying him, or how he felt, and so the admission was a little uncomfortable for him. Of course Flynn was far from his comfort zone as well given the nature of the problem.

Flynn handed him a beer and sat next to him, trying to find the words to begin.

"Have you talked to Summer about this?" He asked the Black Ranger. Dillon gave him a kind of dark look in response. "Sorry, I should have thought."

"I'm not sure it would be the best thing for her to bring this up." Dillon stated. "I love her, and I really want us to be together, but I know this is important to her."

"You're important to her." Flynn reminded him.

"I just don't want her to throw everything away for me." Dillon told him. "I know she loves me, she'd try to make it work, she'd tell me that it doesn't matter, but I saw it in her when she held that baby. I know this is important to her."

He took a long gulp of beer, before looking to the floor.

"I just don't want her to wake up one day an old woman and feel like she's missed out because of me." He continued. "It might not be an issue now, but one day she's going to want a family. If I can't give that to her, it's just going to eat her up inside, she'll grow to resent me I know she will."

"So you started a fight with her?" Flynn asked him.

"It might not be the most ingenious plan, but I figured if I got her angry enough to break up with me then it might not hurt as much in the long run." He explained as he played with the bottle in his hand.

"Well I reckon the right hook she gave you can be taken as a 'mission accomplished' on that front." Flynn commented. "You're going to have a beauty of a shiner there tomorrow."

"I know she's pissed now, maybe she hates me, but in time she'll get over this." Dillon stated. "Eventually she'll move on. She'll get together with another guy that can give her everything she deserves. Not the guy whose future seems to be either turning into a robot or back in stasis."

"First of all Dillon, we don't know that's going to happen." Flynn responded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Dr. K's working round the clock on trying to figure out a way to stop this. Secondly, do you know for a fact you can't have kids?"

"Not really." Dillon replied, shaking his head. "Summer's the only person I've ever been with. Well…as far as I can remember anyway. It's just never been an issue."

"Alright, this I awkward, but I guess we have to do this." Flynn sighed as he tried to push the mental images of that night Summer and Dillon sent together out of his mind. "You and Summer have…"

"You know we did." Dillon interrupted him.

"So you have…"

"Everything is there Flynn." Dillon interrupted him again, becoming a little uncomfortable himself with this line of questioning. "Do we really need to talk about this?"

"Look, I can see both of you are really unhappy because of this. If there's a chance I can stop both of you doing something that'll make you miserable, I'll do it, even if it does mean asking a couple of uncomfortable questions." He replied. "So…uh…does everything…you know…rise to the occasion?"

"Mechanically everything works as it should." Dillon said in a sigh. "It's more the biological part I'm not sure about."

"But you've never actually checked?" Flynn asked him.

"Have you?" Dillon asked him. Flynn just conceded the point. It had never been an issue for him; he and Sam hadn't really talked seriously about family, and so visiting a fertility clinic had never really been high on the 'to do' list.

"I guess I haven't." Flynn replied. "Look, this thing is obviously making both of you really unhappy. You love Summer right?"

"You know I do." Dillon responded.

"Then there's a chance that all of this is all just you worrying over nothing." Flynn told him. "There are some tests…"

"Flynn, I am not going to a clinic." Dillon put down flatly. "Half of my body looks like it belongs inside an electrical appliance shop. They probably wouldn't know what to do with me."

"There's no need." Flynn assured him, flicking a thumb over his shoulder. "In case you've forgotten, probably the most advanced lab and one of the greatest scientists alive are right here."

"Dr. K?" Dillon asked him a little sceptically. "You want me to provide a sample to Dr. K? No way. Even if she agreed, you know how we've butted heads, she…"

"She's a scientist, she'll be professional." Flynn told him. "Of course I could always ask Sam…"

"Your girlfriend?" Dillon asked a little incredulously. "You seriously would want her to get involved in this?"

"Well it's not my idea of the ideal date with her." Flynn said a little sarcastically. "But she is a forensic scientist. I'm pretty sure she's dealt with…"

"Do you really think this is worth it?" Dillon asked him. Flynn just looked at him.

"There's a chance." Flynn stated with authority. "For Summer's sake, isn't that enough?"

Dillon just smiled a little and nodded his head.

"I guess there's no harm in finding out right?" He asked the Blue Ranger. "Dr. K's working on a lot. Maybe Sam should do it."

"This is already a little uncomfortable. Let's just leave it to tomorrow." Flynn suggested. "Maybe we should just go to bed on it for now."

Dillon and Flynn just stared at each other a little awkwardly as he realised what he had said.

"Can…we just pretend I didn't say that?" Flynn asked him.

"I think it would be best." Dillon agreed. "Flynn thanks for this."

"What can I say? I'm a romantic at heart." He replied. "The last thing I want is to see the two of you unhappy."

The following morning, Tenaya came into the main room, finding Summer and Ziggy at the kitchenette. Ziggy was making his way through a massive breakfast, presumably to make sure he had plenty of energy for the game, while Summer ran through a last-minute reminder of the rules, what few there were in Lightningball, to make sure he had memorised them.

"So the play starts..."

"The day starts when the ball is fired from the centre spot to the launcher in the ceiling." Ziggy stated, remembering the detail. "The launcher then fires it in a random direction into the rink."

"That's right. Each play ends..."

"The play ends when the ball in play is placed into one of the scoring pods or the time period ends." Ziggy told her. "Each period is 20 minutes long."

"Okay, and how many periods are there?" Summer asked him. Ziggy put down his fork and sighed.

"The game continues until one team scores in all five of their opponents' scoring pods." He sighed. "I'm going to get creamed."

"Relax Ziggy; you don't give yourself enough credit." Tenaya told him warmly, sitting next to him and plucking a sausage from his plate, biting it. "You're a Ranger. You fight Venjix robots almost every day. How hard can this really be?"

"Usually I have the suit to help me." He reminded her. "Besides, have you seen the size of those guys?"

"Ziggy, just relax, everything will be fine." Tenaya assured him, putting her arm around him and holding him closely. "Besides, I think you'll look really cute in that tight armour."

"Of course that'll make all the difference." Ziggy grumbled in response. "I'm sure I'll look really adorable when the referee's scraping me off the floor with a spatula."

"Look, we've been over this, you're as ready as you're ever going to be." Summer stated as she poured herself some OJ. "Just remember what I taught you. You're a scorer, so..."

"Stay sharp on my feet, only tackle when I need to and try to outrun the defenders." Ziggy interrupted her.

"And if things look too hairy..."

"Drop the ball and run like hell." Ziggy replied.

"Sounds like great tactics." Dillon said as he arrived in the room, taking a seat. "Could you hand me..."

Summer didn't even look at him as she just picked up the jug of orange juice and placed it in front of the Black Ranger. Tenaya and Ziggy just looked at each other a little uneasily. The mood in the room had noticeably chilled when they got together. Dillon's cheek and eye had swollen up and darkened as a result of their altercation the night before hand. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out something had gone down between them.

"Uh...I should be going." Ziggy stammered, shovelling the last couple of mouthfuls down quickly. "I'm going to the stadium. Chas will be waiting."

"I'll go with you." Tenaya rushed out, grabbing a stack of toast and running after him. She had no desire to remain with her brother and his girlfriend when they were like this, and of course, she also really wanted to make sure she got a good seat in the press box for the game. She had watched a few games with Ziggy while he was studying to prepare himself, and she was terrified he would get hurt.

Dillon took a sip of OJ as he tried to find a way to talk to Summer. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any way to begin. He knew that he had to have hurt her terribly with his careless words the night before. He had continually needled and provoked her, hoping that she would end their relationship, thinking that in the long run he would be doing her a favour. He believed that getting her to break up with him would make the split easier for her, but now he could see exactly how much he had hurt her. She couldn't even look at him.

"Hey guys, is everyone ready for the big game?" Scott asked as he came down the stairs. Neither of them answered him. "Hello? Am I talking to myself?"

"No, sorry Scott, I was distracted." Summer responded. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

"Did I just miss something?" He asked them, noting the frosty atmosphere between them. "Dillon, what happened to your face?"

"I...uh...walked into a door." He lied. "I have something I need to take care of. I'll see you at the stadium."

He left, making his way into his room. Scott turned to Summer.

"What exactly happened between you two?" He asked her. "We've been friends too long Summer, if anything's bothering you..."

"Everything's fine." She interrupted him sharply. "Come on, we should get going."

Scott wasn't happy that she seemed to be upset. He wanted to pursue the issue further, but he also knew that Summer could be just as stubborn as he could. If she wasn't ready to talk to him, then he knew he wouldn't be able to make her. All he could do was hope that she would feel comfortable to talk to him soon.

Over at the stadium, Ziggy found his way to the locker room, knocking the door gently. Chas and three others were already inside, beginning to get strapped into their armour.

"Sorry, I couldn't find the locker rooms." He greeted them as he arrived in the room. "Hey Chas."

"Don't worry about it Ziggy, I asked you all to come early because I wanted to take some time to go over the tactics." He told him. "Your armour's over there. Start getting changed, I'll just introduce you around."

The first man to come over was wearing much heavier armour than the others, and was considerably larger. He must have been close to seven feet in his armour, and was almost as broad as Ziggy was tall. He was carrying a large, heavy steel bo staff. Pulling off his helmet, he flashed Ziggy a bright smile. He was African American, and had a shaven head.

"This is Ross, our Guardian." Chas introduced him. "He played with the Jackals until last season."

"I spent a lot of time in juvenile detention centres as a kid until I discovered sports." He told Ziggy, shaking his hand with a grip that threatened to tear his hand clean off. "I'm retired, but when Chas told me some of the money was going to the orphanage and the youth correctional groups, I couldn't resist getting back on the rink. You're the Ranger aren't you?"

"I am." Ziggy replied, stroking his hand gently.

"I can't believe I'm playing with a Ranger. My kids and I are huge fans!" He screamed enthusiastically. He grabbed a programme and a large marker pen. "Could you get me an autograph?"

"Sure!" Ziggy replied with a huge grin. He knew that his position as a Ranger had earned him a measure of fame, and a few fans, but this was the first time anyone had been this enthusiastic about meeting him. It felt good. In that moment, he felt like he could take on anything and his nerves about the game eased considerably. "I'll tell you what, after the game I'll see about getting the rest of them to sign it for you."

"That would be amazing; my kids are going to go nuts!" He gushed, accepting the programme.

"Over here are the two defenders, Lee and Harry Forbes." He introduced them.

"We've met before." Lee informed Chas. "It's been a while, hasn't it Grover?"

Ziggy nodded as they shook his hand. The Forbes brothers were both guards at the prison Ziggy had spent time in. They were taller than him, and impressively toned. Having seen a couple of fights being broken up in the prison, he knew that both of them were experienced martial-artists with a sadistic streak and evil tempers. In this instance though, it could prove to be a good thing. Lee was a little taller than his brother, with bright red hair and a few freckles across his nose. Harry had black hair, and a small scar across his right cheek, the reminder of one of the riots he had helped to quell in the prison.

"So are you ready for this?" Chas asked him, putting an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Ziggy replied.

"Well you're not ready yet." A familiar voice said from the door. They all turned around to see Hicks walking in with a bright smile on his face. He was not limping anymore, and his arm wasn't in a sling, though a support splint on his wrist and forearm indicated his injuries hadn't yet completely healed. Chas came over, shaking his hand.

"I thought you were still on restricted duties." He commented.

"I am for a while yet, but you know I couldn't miss this game." Hicks told him. "You'll be pretty busy out there captaining your team. How would you like me to handle the coaching duties on the sidelines?"

"Why do you think I still have the headset?" Chas asked him, tossing him a radio headset. "If you can't be in the game, then at least I have you on the sidelines. No one knows more about tactics than you."

"Wow, this is what we're up against?" Ryker asked from the door. The two players behind him just laughed as he stepped in, looking around the room with an arrogant sneer. "How's the leg Chas?"

"You'll find out when I stick my foot up your ass!" He responded, moving forward. Hicks just put a hand across his chest, hoping to prevent the game starting early. Ryker and his boys just laughed at him.

"Ross, how long has it been since we last kicked your ass?" He continued. "I thought you retired because you were sick of getting your ass handed to you."

"None of your guys scared me when I was playing." Ross told him coldly, tapping the end of his staff against his hand menacingly. "That hasn't changed pretty boy."

Ryker walked past him, standing chest-to-chest with Ziggy. Without a word, he just put his hand on his own head and traced a line across, indicating the difference in height between them, causing the others to laugh.

"You're out of your depth Ziggy." He whispered. "Fresno Bob says hi."

"Alright, you've had your fun Ryker now get out of here." Hicks warned him.

"Oh, we're going alright." He chuckled. "Why kick your ass in here when we can do it in public?"

"This is for charity." Ziggy reminded him. "It's a friendly match."

"This might be for charity as a publicity stunt for Chas to make himself look good, but trust me, it'll be anything but friendly." Ryker stated. "Just like the boss, we don't play nice. That's why we're the champions. Other people play nice, we play to win."

"Hope you kissed Brie goodbye!" One of the players over Ryker's shoulder taunted him. "We're gonna make her a widow."

Chas was about to attack, but Hicks and the Forbes brothers grabbed him and held him fast to prevent him doing anything stupid.

"She'd only be a widow if we were married you moron!" Chas screamed at him. "You're going down Ryker! Your ass is mine!"

Ryker just laughed as he and his team left, leaving the others to calm Chas down. Hicks shoved him down onto a bench.

"Chas, what the hell is with you?" He asked him.

"Sorry, the guy just gets under my skin." Chas told him.

"You know as well as I do how dangerous they are." Hicks told him. As he saw that Chas wasn't listening, he slapped him to return his focus. "Save it for the rink."

"I'll try." He replied. "Can I have a moment?"

"We need to do the briefing." Hicks reminded him.

"Hicks, I've played on the military team as long as you. I know the playbook backwards." He reminded him. "Just get the others up to speed. I already know the calls."

Hicks just gestured to the others to follow him as Ziggy finished strapping on his armour. They all gathered their helmets and left to go into another room to discuss tactics. Once he was sure they were gone, Chas reached into his bag, and pulled out another needle.

Meanwhile, out in the parking lot, a man in a black business suit quickly checked to make sure no one was watching. He held the earpiece communicator to make sure he could be heard.

"No one's here." He stated.

"Do you see Winchester's car?" Fresno Bob asked him.

"That would be an affirmative." The gangster responded. "A beat up Ford POS, in Crimson Fury. It's a little bit of a comedown from daddy's rides."

"Standby." Fresno Bob instructed him. He hit a button on the console in front of him, killing power to the stadium's security cameras. "You're good to go."

The gangster came out of his hiding place, carrying a briefcase and approached the car, pulling out a couple of tools. He quickly worked the lock, popping the trunk. He threw the case inside, before closing and locking it. He ran from the parking garage, into the fire escape.

"It's done." He replied. Fresno Bob re-activated the security cameras. "What about the Willis?"

"He's finished with Chas' apartment." Fresno Bob told him. "This game's just about to get interesting."


	18. The Game, First Period

Gem, Gemma, Scott and Summer filed into the press box overhanging the rink as the stands began to fill, finding Tenaya already there, waiting for the beginning of the game. Fresno Bob and Mr. Winchester were also present, though currently they were at the refreshment table, discussing something. Summer took a seat next to Tenaya as the others went to check out the refreshments table.

"The game should be starting soon." She told her. "Have you heard from Ziggy since he went to the changing room?"

"Not yet." Tenaya replied, looking noticeably worried. "This is a friendly match right? I mean, it won't be too brutal will it?"

"Unfortunately the Rockets have a bit of a reputation for playing rough." Summer stated, putting an arm around her. "Their playbook generally says that if no one in the other team is still standing, then there's no one to stop them scoring."

"I really wish Ziggy hadn't agreed to this." Tenaya sighed, looking out over the rink. It was around the same size as a hockey rink, though the floor was made of steel, marked at either end into ten-foot long zones that the guardians were to remain within, and with five scoring pods at the end. The centre spot was a hatch which would open to launch the game ball at the beginning of every play, and a large, star-shaped launcher was positioned directly above it at the very top of the dome. The rink was completely encased in a bomb-proof glass dome to prevent the action spilling out into the crowd. "I know he loves the orphanage, but this all seems a little..."

"Suicidal?" Fresno Bob offered as a suggestion as he sat down on a large, plush easy chair a little way off. "I have to admit, I never thought the kid would have the guts to take on something like this. It's almost a shame he's going to be squashed."

Summer held Tenaya down as she felt her tense up at these words. She could understand her fears, she had much the same thoughts herself when Ziggy had told her that he would be playing in the game. Fresno Bob wasn't helping any with his taunting. They watched as he pulled out an ear piece with an attached microphone and attached it to his left ear.

"You're going to be coaching from up here?" Summer asked him.

"What can I say? The side boxes aren't as comfortable." He replied with a shrug as Mr. Winchester came over with a plate of appetisers. "I like to do everything in style these days."

"So I guess you'll be cheering on your son." Scott asked as he and the twins took a seat.

"No, I'm a Rockets man personally." He replied. "I only back winners."

Hey, look down there..."

"...they're coming out!" Gemma concluded, grabbing Scott tightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, here's what you've all been waiting for, the big match live! Here come the challengers. Firstly, the legendary guardian, Peter Ross!"

The crowd erupted into rapturous applause as the legendary player removed his helmet and waved to them, swinging his bo staff in a massive arc for their amusement. He looked around with a huge grin on his face at the greeting. It had been a long time since he had stepped into the rink, and it felt good to be welcomed back so warmly.

"Your defenders, the Forbes brothers!" The announcer called out. Lee and Harry waved to the crowd as they took their positions. "Also, you know and love him as Ranger Series Green, please give a warm welcome to Ziggy Grover!"

The Rangers leapt out of their seats, cheering and applauding as Ziggy made his way out to his marker, waving to the crowd excitedly.

"Is he really that small?" Tenaya asked as she saw the size of her boyfriend compared to the other players on his team. "This isn't fair, how's he meant to compete with...?"

"There's no featherweight division in Lightningball little girl." Fresno Bob taunted her. "Don't worry; he won't be out there long once my boys get their hands on him."

"You know if you don't shut your mouth right now..."

Scott grabbed her, clamping a hand over her mouth and pulling her back down into her seat, though the look in her eyes told the story of a woman ready to cripple the man threatening the welfare of the man she loved. Fresno Bob squinted a little as he saw her.

"Have we met?" He asked her.

"I don't think so." Summer replied, shaking her head and holding her hand. Tenaya and Fresno Bob had met when she attacked Corinth to try and steal the Ranger Green morpher. She had already kicked his ass twice, and so it was probably not the best idea to let him know who she was if he didn't recognise her. "She's my little cousin."

"Which side?" Mr. Winchester asked her. "I wasn't aware Clara or Martin had siblings."

Summer searched her brain for an answer to this. Her mom and dad didn't have any siblings; she really didn't have any cousins.

"We kind of think of each other that way, we're not really cousins." Summer told him. "She was the housekeeper's daughter, Julie."

"I don't remember her." He commented with a shrug. "Oh well, I guess I didn't pay much attention to the help."

"Julie?" Tenaya asked her in a whisper.

"She was my housekeeper's daughter." Summer told her. "I had to think of something."

"Finally please put your hands together for the man who made this game possible, mayoral candidate, Chas Winchester the Fourth!"

Chas ran out onto the field as the crowd applauded, waving to them all. The Rangers all stood up, cheering as he took his position. Flynn, Dillon, Sam and Dr. K arrived at that point, also welcoming him to the game.

"Where were you guys?" Scott asked them.

"We had a little something to take care of." Flynn replied. Dillon tried to make his way over beside Summer, but she saw him coming and grabbed Dr. K.

"I saved you a seat." She rushed out, all but throwing Dr. K into the chair. She looked a little confused, but didn't say anything about it. She knew that Summer and Dillon had a fight the night before, and simply didn't want to get involved. Dillon looked a little angry about the slight, but just sat quietly down at the end of the row.

"Scott, here come the other team!" Gemma shrieked excitedly as she grabbed his hand and beamed broadly. Scott smiled a little seeing her excitement. He knew that this was likely the first time the twins had seen a game of Lightningball, so it all had to be incredibly exciting for them. Dr. K watched the display and simply rolled her eyes, crossing her arms tightly in front of herself defensively. Although she was one of her dearest friends, there was a part of Dr. K that wished Gemma was the one down in the rink about to face five three hundred pound psychos.

"Now please put your hands together for their opponents, last year's champions, the Rockets! First, weighing in this morning without armour at 347 pounds, the Guardian for the Rockets, Mike "The Sledgehammer" Kennedy!"

The guardian pumped his fist in the air and swung his staff around as the crowd cheered for him.

"Their left wing defender, and winner of last season's rookie of the year award, Morris!"

One of the defenders held up his hands to accept the greeting. He was the smallest man on the team, but even he dwarfed Ziggy by almost a foot, and at least 50 pounds.

"He was last year's hottest defender." Summer whispered to Tenaya, explaining the adulation. "He only started playing professionally last season, but he already has 69 career knockouts to his name."

"If he hurts Ziggy he's going to pay!" Tenaya hissed in response. Summer held her arm, reminding her that she was there for comfort. She looked across to Dillon, though snapped her gaze away as he looked over. She was still incredibly hurt by what he had said about her, and she was as mad as hell about him, but that didn't mean she didn't love him. As much as she knew that Dillon was easily more than a match for anyone on the Rocket's team, she was glad he wasn't playing. She would be terrified of him getting hurt, so she had no idea what Tenaya was going through. She had to be going out of her mind seeing Ziggy out there.

The crowd had just finished cheering the announcement of the right defender and the left scorer when he ran onto the field. The entire stadium rose to its feet and bellowed a deafening roar of approval. The very stadium shook as the applause sounded.

"Finally, you know him, you love him, he's last season's Player of the Year, and Dome Secrets Magazine's number one on the sexiest male list. Ace Ryker!"

Ryker did a couple of back flips, followed by a backward somersault before waving to the crowd as he arrived in the stadium. The place erupted into a frenzy as he accepted the greeting, before pulling on his helmet and pulling down the face guard. Chas glared at him hatefully as he finally made his way into position.

"You ready for this Winchester?" Ryker asked him. "It's time to go to school."

"Just shut up and bring it!" Chas snarled as the referees finished their safety checks of the players' equipment and left the rink. The referees only watched the action from remote cameras for safety reasons. Trying to officiate the game from inside the rink would be suicidal. The buzzer sounded as the door closed behind them, indicating the start of the game.

The ball, a steel sphere a little larger than a softball, fired upwards from the centre spot, into the launcher in the ceiling. It was a six-pointed star shaped contraption, with tubes coming from the six points. Lights flashed from it as the players prepared for what was to come. At random, one of the tubes lit up, and the ball was launched towards the floor, a little way from Chas' position.

Chas caught it as it rebounded from the floor, only to find Ryker rushing him. He grabbed the ball, before kicking Chas in the thigh as hard as he could, sending his legs flying and dumping him on the ground. He ran towards the scoring zone as the other players tried to stop him, but his own team were too quick for them, preventing them from reaching their captain.

Ryker faked to his left as he approached Ross. He swung wildly with his bo staff, finding only empty air as Ryker sprinted right, before slamming the ball into the furthest right scoring pod. The buzzer sounded and a hatch closed over it, acknowledging the point.

"You should have stayed retired Ross." Ryker taunted him, slapping his helmet as the players returned to their positions. "You're losing your touch."

Up in the box, Fresno Bob just laughed as his players celebrated.

"Good one Ryker, just keep to the strategy and everything will be fine." He told his star player through the head set. He cupped his hand over the mouth piece. "Did you see that Charles? The game isn't even a minute in and my boys are ahead."

"My son never did think things through." Mr. Winchester replied. "If he's lucky he'll walk out of here."

"That's your son you're talking about!" Summer reprimanded him. "I know he isn't an egotistical snob like you anymore, but aren't you even a little worried about him?"

"He made his choices." Mr. Winchester replied with a shrug. "He knew there would be consequences."

Summer just shook her head in disbelief. Although her parents had been part of that world, and had made more than their fair share of questionable choices in her upbringing, but even they would never have treated her so callously. They were distant and neglectful at times, but they were never cruel. Her father had only raised a hand to her once in his life, and he still hadn't forgiven himself for it. Mr. Winchester though, almost seemed to enjoy watching his son suffering.

"Well that makes two in less than five minutes." Fresno Bob announced as the crowd roared and the buzzer sounded, indicating their second point.

"The game might not even get past the first period." Scott announced. Tenaya just breathed a sigh of relief as Ziggy pulled himself to his feet. He had taken a hit, but it hadn't been hard, just enough to take him off his feet. It seemed that the Rockets were concentrating on Chas. He was helped to his feet by the Forbes brothers as he limped back to his position.

"Ryker, it's time for that special play we talked about." Fresno Bob instructed him. Ryker nodded in understanding as they all took their positions. The ball was launched, almost directly into his hands. As Chas ran towards him, Ryker threw it downwards, bouncing it between his legs behind him. The defender behind him, simply swatted it over his head, back to their guardian, who caught it.

To everyone's amazement, he turned and ran to the far left, slamming it into his own far left scoring pod. The hatch closed, and the buzzer sounded, acknowledging the point for the Warriors.

"Did they just score an own goal?" Flynn asked.

"I think they did." Sam answered, no less confused than the others. Fresno Bob just laughed.

"There's only ten minutes left in the period." He relayed to his team. "Just keep to the playbook."

This time, the ball was launched towards Ziggy, giving him his first opportunity of the match. He caught it, running down the left wing. He dodged as he saw the defenders running towards him, but he was shocked that he evaded them so easily.

He turned in time to see that Ryker had hooked Chas into a full nelson. He bridged backwards, driving his head into the floor, stunning him, at which the defenders rushed to help him. One of them jumped high into the air, before driving his knee into Chas' leg, causing him to scream in agony.

He was about to run over to help him, when he saw the Forbes brothers doing so. Ross came out of his zone, rushing over to join the fray, but waved to Ziggy to carry on. They would help Chas, but right now he had an open opportunity.

Ziggy turned around, seeing only the Guardian standing between him and the scoring pods. He ran forward, ducking under his swing, and rushing to the far right, slamming the ball into the scoring pod. The buzzer sounded and the play ended. Ziggy ran over to Chas as he was helped back to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Ziggy asked him.

"I'll be fine, I'll walk it off." He replied. "It looks like you have some fans."

Ziggy followed his arm to where Chas was pointing to the V.I.P box, seeing the Rangers all cheering and pounding on the glass. Tenaya was hopping around with glee, seeing him make the point. Ziggy waved to them, thankful that he was still alive, never mind equalising the game. A high-pitched whistle sounded.

"That's the two minute warning." Ross told him. "Just try to hold them off for that long, we'll regroup during the rest period."

The players all lined up, preparing for the launch. This time, the ball was launched far, landing behind Ross. He ran over to collect the ball, but turned just in time to see Ryker launching himself at him, slamming both knees into the side of his helmet as he tried to turn from him. Ryker picked up the ball and slammed it into the near left scoring pod, just before the period ended, leaving the score at 3-2 by the end of the first period.

"Thanks for the point Grandpa." Ryker chuckled as he walked away. Ross threw down his staff in frustration.

"Easy big guy, he'll get his." Ziggy assured him. "The last thing you want is to give him the satisfaction of getting you thrown out for attacking him out with game time."

"I really have lost a step." Ross commented, unfastening the strap on his helmet and removing it as they headed back to the changing room. "I'd never have gotten caught like that back in the day."

"It's alright, we still have time." Chas grunted as he limped up the corridor with them. He was too proud to let the others help him off the rink. He knew that Ryker would only take it as a sign of weakness.

"That's right guys, it isn't over yet." Hicks reminded them as they arrived in the locker room. Chas lay down on a bench to get the weight off his leg and rest it. "Just don't get suckered into playing their game. Remember you don't need to take them out, only score three more points."

Meanwhile, up in the V.I.P. box, the Rangers were busy talking about the match so far. Tenaya was a little quiet, and Summer was just talking to her reassuringly, making sure she was alright. Dillon watched her from the corner of the room as Sam approached.

"You know she is your sister." She reminded him. "Maybe you should be comforting her."

"I already have one black eye." He told her. "Do you have the test results back yet?"

"The computers came back with an answer before the buzzer." She told him. "They show your...sample...to have no abnormalities."

"No abnormalities?" Dillon asked her. "You mean..."

"It looks like your reproductive system was one of the things Venjix didn't tamper with." She assured him. "There's absolutely no reason why you wouldn't be able to have kids."

"Well that's one problem out of the way I guess." He sighed, looking over to where Summer was comforting Tenaya. "Now I just need to figure out how to get Summer to forgive me for what I said."

Scott sat next to Gemma, handing her a hotdog.

"Hey, I asked for mustard!" She reminded him. Scott just smiled mischievously and produced a squeezy bottle, pointing it at her.

"Oh don't you dare!" She shrieked. Scott just nodded and squeezed, squirting her with mustard. Gemma laughed and snatched it from him.

"Now, you know you can't do that." He told her. "I am your leader after all."

"I shoot first and ask questions later, remember?" She teased him, firing some at him. Scott ducked, causing her to squirt Dr. K directly in the face. Gemma winced as she realised what she had done. "Oh, sorry about that."

"If you must fight with condiments, please do so when there are no innocent bystanders." Dr. K grumbled as she glared at them. Scott put his arm around Gemma, his face betraying the fact he was seconds away from bursting into fits of laughter. Dr. K felt the familiar tight, uncomfortable knot in her stomach as she saw this and just turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked.

"I'm going to the bathroom to go and get cleaned up." She replied coldly. "Feel free to go and drown each other with mustard in my absence."

"What was that about?" Scott asked as he watched her go. "She seemed really pissed about something."

"Well we did just spray her with mustard." Gemma reminded him, raising the bottle over his head. "Which reminds me..."

She squirted a spiral of mustard into his hair, causing him to gasp, before bursting out laughing.

"Oh you are so going to pay for that Goldie!" He yelled as she ran off, before grabbing the ketchup bottle and setting off in hot pursuit.


	19. The Game Concludes

Chas and the Warriors assembled in the changing room, resting up after the first brutal period of play.

"Okay guys, that wasn't great, but they're only one point ahead." Hicks said reassuringly, trying to encourage his players.

"They're only one point ahead because they scored an own-goal." Ziggy reminded him. "And they completely ignored me on that play they mugged Chas."

"That doesn't matter. You're still within one point of equalising." Hicks stated. "Did you get those points because they let you? Sure you did, but that could be what costs them."

"Get real Hicks, this game was only ever meant to be an exhibition." Lee Forbes stated, grabbing a cup from the cooler and drinking deeply. "No one expected us to win."

"Just because no one expected us to win is no reason to say we can't." Hicks stated. "Sure it's an exhibition match, but why does that mean we have to stop trying?"

"You think we haven't been trying?" Ziggy asked him incredulously. "Are you watching the same game here?"

"I know you're all trying, but you're still approaching the game with the attitude that they're going to win." He implored them, gesturing to a chalk board, bringing their attention to a plan of the rink. "Anyone can win one game. How much sweeter do you think it'll be if we win? All we need is a little strategy. Chas, how is the leg holding up?"

"I'll live." He replied. "I'm still standing."

"Right, I think I have an idea. Gather around." Hicks told them. "This is what we're going to do."

Brie was taking a walk out to the car during the interval. She had just watched her fiancé being pummelled mercilessly throughout the first period, and wanted to take a little break and stretch her legs.

She had already passed Scott and Gemma in the corridor, running around the like maniacs attacking each other with condiments. She hadn't really seen Scott acting like that before, and so she had to wonder if there was something going on between them. She had only met the twins a couple of times, and she had found them to be a little full-on. Sure, she could admit that Gemma was attractive, but she wasn't sure she could see the attraction.

She furrowed her brows as she turned the corner, finding a couple of soldiers surrounding the car.

"There's nothing to see here, move it along." One of the soldiers told her.

"Excuse me, but what are you doing to my car?" She asked them. Two of the soldiers just stared at her.

"This is your car?" He asked her for confirmation. "We have a warrant to search this vehicle."

Brie took the document from him, checking it over in disbelief. She couldn't understand what they wanted to search for.

"It says you're also entitled to search our apartment." She gasped. "What are you looking for?"

"Just open the vehicle please." The officer barked at her a little aggressively. "We have the right to force our way in if you do not comply. I believe it would be in your best interests to just do as we say."

Brie just dutifully pulled out the car keys and opened the trunk, exposing the contents inside.

"It looks like that tip off was good." One of the soldiers stated.

"I've never seen any of this stuff before!" She shrieked in response. "This isn't ours..."

"Are you sure?" One of the guards asked her. "Are you trying to tell us that you weren't aware of your fiancé's drug use?"

"He's been taking some painkillers for his injuries, but that's all." She replied. "I don't know where any of this stuff came from."

"We'll talk about this more in the interview room." He answered. "In the meantime, would you accompany us to your apartment?"

Brie just nodded and left with them. Chas was due back in the rink, and so he still didn't know about the trouble that was waiting for him at the end of the game. His behaviour had been erratic for a long time. People knew about his injuries, and his fight with Ryker at the carnival had been covered in all the papers. Now the guards had found a large quantity of drugs and stolen prescription pads in the car. It didn't take a genius to figure out that things didn't look good for him.

Summer was over at the refreshments table, quietly sipping some coffee when Dillon approached her. She turned her back on him as she noticed him, pouring herself another cup.

"It's a good game huh?" Dillon asked her. "I've never seen it played before."

Summer didn't answer though. He sighed as he realised she was ignoring him, but all things considered he couldn't really blame her. He knew he'd have a lot of work to do to get her to even talk to him again, never mind forgive him for what he had said.

"Ziggy's doing well." He complimented his friend. "I would have thought he'd be getting creamed by now."

"He's impressed me." Summer replied, not even looking at him. She gestured to where Tenaya was standing by the window, looking out over the stadium. "He has at least one fan."

"Summer, I wanted to talk..."

"It's almost time for the second period." Summer interrupted him. "I'm going back to my seat."

"Summer can you just hear me out for a second?" He asked her.

"Like you did with me?" She snapped in response.

"I know I've behaved like a jerk." He replied sadly. "Could you please just..?"

"Dillon, I'm really not in the mood for this." She said coldly, putting her cup down on the table. "I just need a little time by myself. I'm not feeling too good, tell Ziggy I went home."

"Let me give you a ride..."

"Dillon, I just want to be by myself." She said sarcastically.

"Maybe we could talk later." He suggested.

"Maybe." She said in a sigh. He felt his heart deflating a little as he watched her leave. He knew he had a lot of grovelling to do before he could expect her to forgive him, but right now she wasn't even willing to let him explain. All he could do was give her time and hope that she would eventually talk to him.

"Hey, they're starting again!" Tenaya called out, pointing down into the rink. "There's Ziggy!"

The players made their way back into the arena, taking their positions. Chas hobbled over to his spot, glancing to Ziggy to communicate their next play. Ryker lined up opposite Chas, signing to his team mates the play they were to perform. The buzzer sounded, heralding the first launch of the second period.

The ball launched far into the Rocket's zone as the players rushed each other. As predicted, three of the players immediately all rushed towards Chas. Ziggy and the two Forbes brothers intercepted them, taking them to the floor hard, leaving the way clear for Chas to run into their half of the rink.

He managed to avoid the defender on his way around the flank, before facing down their guardian, who stood, holding the ball, waiting for one of his team to get clear. Seeing Chas running towards him, he tried to throw it to the defender, only for Chas to intercept it. He quickly faked his way around him, throwing it with unerring accuracy into one of the vacant scoring pods. The crowd all cheered as he threw his hands up in triumph.

"That makes us all even!" He sneered at the Guardian. "Thank Ryker for me!"

"Thank him yourself Winchester!" He responded, pointing behind him. Chas turned to prepare for an attack, which came instead from behind as the Guardian smashed his bo staff into Chas' thigh as hard as he could. An alarm sounded, and the rest of the Warriors crowded around Chas as he collapsed in pain.

"For attacking out with active play, the Rocket's Guardian, Mike Kennedy has been sent off for game misconduct!" One of the referees announced over the announce system. The hulking player made his way out of the arena as he was booed relentlessly by the crowd. Hicks ran onto the arena floor to check on Chas.

"Chas how is it?" Hicks asked him. "Can you go on?"

"Forget it Hicks, he's done." Ziggy responded as he unhitched some of Chas' armour, exposing his thigh. "There's no way he'll be able to walk on this."

"I'm not giving up Hicks!" He screamed in response.

"You're not getting a choice in this Chas." He replied. "I'm the coach here; I'm not letting you cripple yourself. They're already a man down; we can handle it from here."

Hicks signalled to the medical team to get onto the arena floor and help him to the back. Hicks left with him, leaving the other eight players to finish the game.

"One down four to go boys!" Ryker laughed as the doors closed, sealing them in.

"Right guys, Chas got us this far, let's not make his effort worth nothing." Ziggy told them, taking on the role of captain.

"Just let them get close enough for me to get a few shots in." Ross told him. "We'll soon be back on top."

"No, we don't want to play their game." Ziggy told him. "We've got the score even; all we need is to get the remaining two points. That's what'll really hurt them. Hit them where it hurts, up there on the score board!"

"Do you have any ideas?" Lee Forbes asked him. Ziggy smiled.

"I think I have an idea." He told them, gesturing for them all to huddle closer. "Listen, this is the play."

Summer arrived back in the Garage a little while later. She wanted to know how the rest of the game was going. She really wanted to be there for moral support for Ziggy and Chas, but being in such close proximity to Dillon just made it impossible for her to stay. She still couldn't understand what had happened between them. What could possibly have changed between them that had caused the rift?"

He had tried to talk to her, but any time he got close to her, all she could hear was the savageness in his voice, and the vindictiveness of his words. She couldn't push through how much it hurt to think of how he had spoken to her. He had said probably the one thing she wasn't sure she could forgive him for.

She had worked so hard in her therapy sessions. She had faced things that she had long since buried deep inside. Things so painful that it had taken everything she had to confront them and work through them. More than that, she had also given him something precious, something that for long enough she wasn't sure she could give to anyone. She loved him so much; she had been able to trust him completely with her heart and her body. He had been the first man she had ever made love to.

However, things just soured after that. Something about him had changed since he found out about Tenaya. He had accused her of betraying him by not telling him about her relationship with Ziggy. He had screamed at her at length about it, and in his anger had taunted her about the time she had spent in therapy.

Her head was pounding, and she could barely focus, the tension had gotten so intense. She went into the lab, hoping to find some headache tablets in the medication cabinet.

As she poured herself a glass of water to wash them down with, she noticed a report sitting on Dr. K's printer. Figuring it was probably something to do with the offensive they were planning on the Alpha Project factory; she picked it up and started reading.

Her headache got worse and she started stroking the bridge of her nose to try and focus. She wasn't sure what to make of what she was reading. Far from a tactical briefing, it was a medical report. More accurately, it was the readout from a fertility test.

Late in the second period, the Rockets managed to pull an equaliser, squaring the score at four all. Ziggy called all of the Warriors in for another huddle as the two minute warning sounded.

"Right, we only have time for one play before the end of the period." Ziggy told them. "I have an idea, but it's going to take all of us to make it work."

"What can we do?" Lee asked him. Ziggy thought about it for a second.

"Make sure you keep the defenders off me." Ziggy told them. "That only leaves the two forwards."

"I'm not allowed out of the scoring zone with the staff." Ross told him.

"Then ditch it. I'm going to need all the help I can get." Ziggy replied, signalling to the referees. One of the referees came in to take the staff away. "I need you to take care of the left scorer."

"But that leaves you with Ryker to take care of!" Ross questioned him. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure about this." Ziggy replied with a smile. "Ryker's made it clear he doesn't think much of me. If I'm right, I can use that to get him to underestimate me."

The players took their positions, preparing for the launcher. The process seemed to take hours as the players prepared for the dying seconds of the period.

The launcher fired the ball out, almost directly into Ziggy's hands. He immediately switched around behind Ross, who barrelled forward, almost decapitating his man with a harsh lariat, sending him to the floor. Ziggy followed the big man as the Forbes brothers concentrated on the defenders. Ziggy circled round, running directly towards Ryker, who put his head down, rushing straight towards him.

Ziggy was hit hard with a body check, taking him to the ground. Ryker smirked at him, shoving his face aside as he laughed.

"Nice try Ranger boy!" He teased him. "You're nowhere near a match for me on this field!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Ziggy asked him, showing him his hands. Ryker's eyes opened wide as he saw that they were empty. "You've got to love sleight of hand."

Ryker turned around in time to watch Ross standing next to the last scoring pod. Ziggy had slipped him the ball when he ran behind him, but Ryker had been so focussed on Ziggy he hadn't noticed the switch. He clamped his hands over his face as Ross slammed the ball in, causing the final siren to sound seconds before the period ended.

The Warriors started the celebration as the Rockets left the arena, clearly disappointed at the loss. Hicks ran into the rink, breaking up the moment.

"Guys, we need to get going." He told them. "Chas was just arrested."

"What?" Ziggy asked him. "What for?"

"A considerable volume of narcotics and prescription pads were found in his car and his apartment." Hicks told them. "He was tested in the locker room by the military during the last period. He tested positive for dangerous levels of prescription painkillers."

"The press are here." Ziggy stated, pointing to the reporters swarming into the rink. "Come on, we need time to get our facts straight. Everyone into the locker room, no one talk to the press until we know what's going on."

Hicks and several soldiers escorted them past the press as questions were barked at them from all directions. Right now all they could do was try not to enflame the situation. All they could do was get out of there.

Up in the V.I.P. box, the Rangers started to file out of the room, leaving Mr. Winchester and Fresno Bob alone. Mr. Winchester looked at the mobster.

"So when exactly does this ingenious plan of yours take effect?" He asked him. "Chas' team won!"

"No one's going to care once they read the papers tomorrow." Fresno Bob informed him. "He's just been arrested for narcotics offences."

Mr. Winchester looked at him a little puzzled. Fresno Bob just smiled.

"The thing is, sometimes when people get hurt badly, they can start taking a few too many painkillers, especially when they have a busy schedule." Fresno Bob explained, taking out his ear piece. "He'll probably get a slap on the wrist and a stay in rehab since it is his first offence, but who do you think will really want a junkie for their mayor?"

"I think I underestimated you." Mr. Winchester said with a grin as one of the Cartel henchmen handed him a glass of champagne.

"Enjoy the rest of the election race." He replied, getting up to leave. "If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

Back at the Garage, Dillon arrived back with the others, finding Summer sitting in the main room, holding a report in her hand.

"Summer, are you alright?" Scott asked her, seeing the expression on her face. Summer shook her head gently.

"Dillon, could I speak to you for a minute?" She asked him. The others all made their excuses and left the room. Dillon approached her, smiling hopefully, though a little nervous.

"Summer, I'm glad..."

"I found this on Dr. K's printer." She interrupted him, handing him the report. Dillon sighed as he saw it. She knew about the tests.

"Is this what this is about?" She asked him. "It never clicked with me until I saw this, but all this started after I teased you about kids."

"Summer, I was scared." He told her. "I saw how much you loved holding that baby. I could tell how important it is to you to have a family. I just wasn't sure if that was something that would be possible. I'm still not sure how much of my body is biological."

"So you belittled everything I've been through for that?" She screamed, getting into his face. "You hurt me because you thought I was teasing you?"

"No, it wasn't anything to do with that." He replied. "I know what I did was hurtful, but I didn't want to risk you growing to resent me because I couldn't give you the life you wanted. I didn't want you to miss out because of me."

He took her hand in his, looking down at her, trying to catch her eyes.

"Flynn called me on it, and I explained. He convinced me to take some tests." He informed her. "He and Sam got these results. I'm really sorry about this; I didn't want to hurt you. I was just so scared you'd hate me, but now I know that I was worried for nothing."

"Flynn." She whispered, sniffing back some tears as she heard this. "You talked to Flynn and Sam about this?"

"Summer, there's nothing to worry about, we know that this isn't an issue." He told her. "I'm sorry, I know what I said was nasty and hurtful..."

"You don't get it do you?" Summer asked him. "You still think this is about kids?"

"Summer...?"

"Dillon, that was all just talk!" She yelled at him. "Every couple talks about stuff like that at times. Of course I want to start a family, but not right now!"

"Summer, I know that." He replied. "I know you want to wait..."

"Dillon, I want a family some day, and if they could be our kids, that would be even better." She interrupted him angrily. "But I'm not with you because I want kids! If we can have kids, I'd have been happy, but there are dozens of kids looking for a good home. I'm with you because I love you."

"Summer, just..."

"Dillon, all of this just hurts too much." She interjected. "I can't think right now. All of this is just...I can't think straight."

"Summer, whatever you need me to say or do, I'll do it." He replied. Summer reached around behind the chair, picking up a duffle bag full of clothes. Dillon felt tears starting to form in his eyes as he saw this.

"All I can feel whenever I'm around you is angry and hurt and betrayed. I can't figure out what I want while I'm like that. I need to get some space." She told him. "I've got my morpher in case Dr. K needs to contact me, but I can't stay here."

"Summer, please don't do this." He begged her. "It can't end like this, please!"

"Please don't make this any harder than it already is." She asked him tearfully as she made her way towards the door. She stopped and turned back to him. "I'll be staying at my parent's apartment until I can straighten out my head. Please, if you love me, do me a favour. Don't try and follow me."

Dillon just ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he watched the woman he loved walking out the door. He slumped into the chair, feeling the tears beginning to overtake him. He loved her so much; he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Right now though, he had no idea if she could ever forgive him.

Fin.

A/N: Now that the season has FINALLY returned, I'll be able to get back to the action. Beginning with the next story, the assault on the Venjix factory. Hope you enjoyed the filler chapters.


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